The News Agents

The government admitted today that the superinjunction which for two years prevented us from reporting on a “catastrophic” data breach which put the lives of 100,000 Afghans at potentially lethal risk by the Taliban was “constitutionally unprecedented”.

The Defence secretary stood up in the Commons to issue an apology to those Afghans whose data had been leaked, and said that it had been “deeply uncomfortable” to have kept parliamen...

For nearly two years the government has taken The News Agents and other journalists to a secret court to prevent us from reporting a story of huge public interest.

In August 2023 Lewis was told of a massive data breach at the Ministry of Defence - a dataset including the names and contact details of 18000 applicants to the ARAP programme, the scheme for Afghans who had helped the British armed forces in the 20 year war in the count...

More in Common's latest research of 20 thousand people suggests nearly 90 percent of us have little or no trust in politicians. 70 percent of voters think this country is on the wrong track, and the prevailing word used to describe Britain is 'broken'. What does that mean for main stream political parties? How do they convince people politics can improve their lives? And will the next electoral race be between populists on the left...

It would be an exaggeration to say the vultures are already circling the wagon - but there are already conversations taking place about Keir Starmer's future. Bloomberg and Sky have both reported that sources in Labour are already contemplating the prospect of a move against the PM next May after the local elections.

Absolutely crucial to those results will be Wales. Labour has never been out of power since devolution in Wales - mor...

More bonus content from our new-look weekend edition!

The British & Irish Lions are soon to face Australia in the big three Tests, after wrapping up their warm-up games. So Gabby caught up with former Lions & England flanker, James Haskell to talk about Henry Pollock, where the team need to improve, what it's like to get a late call up like Owen Farrell and almost killing Rory Best on Tour.

If you or someone you know has be...

Gregg Wallace’s friends have been telling newspapers that his "autistic hypersensitivity" meant that he had an “oddity of filters and boundaries", including an inability to wear underwear or any tight clothing. Gregg himself has complained that the BBC neglected its duty of care to him and his recently diagnosed autism. Fifty more people have come forward this week to complain to the BBC about his alleged over-sexualised behaviour ...

Last night on X, Elon Musk's AI chatbot - Grok - started imitating Hitler in its responses to user questions. Was this intentional? Did Musk really command his AI tool to spew out anti-semitic takes? And will this lead to any sort of regulation over AI?

Later, we discuss the upcoming doctors strike. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned resident doctors the public "won't forgive" them, and despite a pay rise of 29% over the last...

The government has studiously avoided ruling out a wealth tax this week. Minister after minister has refused to knock down the suggestion, despite the Chancellor having dismissed the idea as recently as April. So what's changed? Could a levy on wealthy individuals be on the cards for October's budget? Would it even raise any money - or is Rachel Reeves in danger of scaring wealth creators out of Britain? We speak to the incoming di...

Labour used to be the party that leapt to the defence of the BBC. So why was the Culture Secretary this weekend calling for heads to roll, saying she was "exasperated" at the broadcaster, and refusing to express confidence its director general Tim Davie?

The BBC has admitted to failings in its Glastonbury coverage, which saw it stream one act chanting "death to the IDF" - despite the corporation later admitting it had deemed them "...

Twelve months ago, the Conservatives suffered the worst general election result in their near 200 year history and Keir Starmer took up the mantle at Downing Street. It's been turbulent - from riots sweeping the UK, to party divisions and economic uncertainty.

This Friday, Jon and Lewis answer your questions about the Prime Minister's first year in office and look back on how his government is doing.

The News Agents is brought to y...

Welcome to the new-look weekend edition with fresh interviews and content!

With the Tour de France starting this weekend Gabby and Mark try to get their heads around the immense physical and mental challenge of winning one of the world's toughest races. They speak to the winner of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, Kasia Niewiadoma (06:15), ex-pro cyclist, Adam Blythe, and former Team Sky nutritionist, Nigel Mitchell (21:30).

You can ...

Keir Starmer did a round of interviews this morning in a show of support for his Chancellor. And the reason was clear. After she cried in the Commons chamber yesterday the bond markets started to panic.

If Rachel Reeves leaves the government, so the theory goes, her fiscal rules, her commitment to economic discipline, could be revisited. So after a bumpy week - for both Reeves and the government - has she proved to be unsackable?

An...

There is much we still don’t know or understand about today. Was Rachel Reeves upset by an altercation with the Speaker? Was the issue something more personal? Was she exhausted after the fruitless and demoralising failure of her welfare reform bill? But the sight of the Chancellor at lunch time today fighting back tears at the PM's side was pretty surreal. She looked wounded, fragile and hurt - and inevitably, it’s started specula...

After a lull in the Bro Wars - the sequel. This time Trump is threatening not only to remove Musk's government subsidies but even have him deported. Why? It all goes back to Musk's criticism of Trump's massive spending bill - which gives the wealthy tax cuts and removes Medicaid for 17 million Americans - and would add 3 trillion dollars to America's ballooning deficit. Could Musk start his own party? Will he really prove a politic...

Tomorrow, Labour MPs will be asked to vote on the rejigged welfare reform bill. Senior Labour politicians Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham still don’t think it’s worth the paper it’s written on. But the whole debacle has thrown up a bigger question about Starmer's leadership and authority. Does anyone really understand what’s in the PM's mind or what he is trying to achieve? We speak to the Starmer whisperer, Tom Baldwin.

Later, Glaston...

This Friday, Lewis is joined in the studio by the newest members of the 'agents' family. Neil Basu is former head of Counter Terrorism Policing and Andy Hughes is an investigative journalist who's been covering crime for two decades.

They look back on 2017, a year which the UK experienced a series of devastating terrorist attacks, to talk about what it takes to catch a terrorist, and why some slip through the net.

You can listen to...

This week on The Sports Agents...

A big exclusive ahead of the Euros with two of England's defending champions, Lauren Hemp & Niamh Charles, Gabby goes behind the scenes at Wimbledon (10:30) and after England's historic comeback we ask ex-England bowler Steven Finn if 5-day cricket is too long? (19:30)

You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here.

Got a question for The Sports Agents? Email us at thesportsagents@global.com

New ...

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 see a climb down? A change of policy?...

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 the language has been expletive fre...