The News Agents

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Is Keir Starmer losing control of his party? Jun 26, 2025

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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? Or watch the whole bill disappear?

We talk to Douglas Alexander about the direction of the bill, the party and our trade deal with Trump.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Why is NATO’s Secretary-General calling Trump “DADDY"? Jun 25, 2025

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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 free.

But why are NATO leaders refusing to mention Russian aggression? Will they just end up looking scared? We talk to Estonia's defence secretary and the global historian, Peter Frankopan, author of Silk Roads

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Trump: Israel and Iran "don't know what the f*** they're doing" Jun 24, 2025

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We’re at the Nato summit in The Hague where Europe’s leaders were hoping to put defence spending and Ukraine top of the agenda.

That's before Donald Trump derailed things by swearing on the White House lawn. He’s very cross that Israel and Iran aren't listening to him, and his insistence that a ceasefire is underway.

Can he will a war to end just by saying it? Or are we learning how little control Trump really has over world events?

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Does Trump want to topple Iran’s government? Jun 23, 2025

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Has Trump now decided he would like to topple Iran’s leadership? He’s let his cabinet tell the world that the only game here was to stop Iran becoming nuclear competent.

Yet, overnight his motivation seems to have changed. Does this change the whole scenario and make an end game much harder? And what kind of conversations is Starmer now having with his inner circle about whether these strikes on Tehran are even legal?

Later, the complicated response of Iranian people as their cities are being bombed. Do they welcome the chance to see the regime fall. Or will they rally to the flag?

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Special Episode: Trump strikes Iran Jun 22, 2025

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Trump did it - he attacked Iran. Overnight, US armed forces attacked three of Iran’s nuclear development sites. Trump claims to have obliterated the nascent Iranian nuclear capabilities. Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu is jubilant. European leaders are uneasy. The whole world is holding its breath.

What happens now? Can we even know? What does it mean for the region, for Europe and the world? And what should the British government do?

Lewis and Jon discuss in a special Sunday episode, on a day when an already volatile world seemed to get that bit less certain.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Chris Patten on Israel, Iran and Nigel Farage the pub bore Jun 20, 2025

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Chris Patten has done it all. Conservative cabinet minister under Thatcher and Major, our last Governor of British Hong Kong, then back home overseeing policing reform in Northern Ireland, EU Commissioner in Brussels, Chairman of the BBC, Chancellor of Oxford University, you name it, Patten has more chance than anybody of having done it. But his sort of Tory Party is one which increasingly feels consigned to history. What does it mean for Britain’s future if there are no successors to the sort of politics he embodied?

Now in his 80th year, Lewis went to Patten’s salubrious Barnes home, to discuss a remarkable career in national and international politics. He talks the future of China, the Iran conflict, Starmer’s handling of Trump and how Farage is Britain’s biggest pub bore.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Weekend Edition: Poison, Chelsea's frozen £2.5bn & training Ascot winners - The Sports Agents Jun 20, 2025

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This week on The Sports Agents...

Does the government actually have a good reason for the £2.5bn from the Chelsea FC sale not helping millions of children worldwide? And was former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich poisoned? (03:30)

How do you train a horse for Royal Ascot? A full behind the scenes episode from one of Britain's best yards, which trained the late Queen's horses. (13:30)

And what is it like to race for 24 hours in Le Mans? How do you stay awake for the night driving? (20:30)

In response to the comments made in this podcast Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far. While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.”

You can watch our full episodes on YouTube here.

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

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Will Britain go to war with Iran? Jun 19, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer has put his cabinet on alert for a possible US attack on Iran.

Just 24 hours after insisting Donald Trump had given no indication he was about to “get involved” in the conflict between Israel and Iran, the Prime Minister called a COBRA meeting to review how Britain might respond to a major escalation. Would Starmer be able to say no to Trump? What might Trump ask us to do? And how did we get here in under a week?

Later, we are joined by the Hungarian deputy foreign minister to discuss their welcome of Netanyahu, NATO, Ukraine and whether Hungarians are falling out of love with Viktor Orban.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Is Iran really making a nuclear bomb? Jun 18, 2025

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Later on this episode we’re joined by author of 'Sapiens' and 'Nexus' - Yuval Noah Harari - to talk politics and AI. But we begin with war.

The speed of the escalation between Iran, Israel, and the US has been staggering. Trump is flirting with entering a war he doesn’t want, with an enemy he may not be able to control. At the heart of this conflict are questions over Iran’s ability to make nuclear weapons. Netanyahu believes it’s an imminent threat. Trump’s own administration didn’t believe this back in March.

So what’s actually changed? And is Iran actually nuclear ready? We discuss with Iranian analyst and former state department advisor Vali Nasr.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Why are politicians weaponising grooming gang survivors? Jun 17, 2025

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Louise Casey's report on grooming gangs is incredibly tough reading. She details, over 200 pages, the repeated failings of local authorities, police forces, government departments and indeed the legal system, which treats the victims of the most horrific abuse as somehow culpable.

She was tasked to look into the issue following a clamour for a national inquiry earlier this year. Bundled up in those calls - propelled by Elon Musk - was the claim that Pakistani men were responsible for the vast majority of "group-based" child sexual exploitation offences. Baroness Casey has looked at that claim. She has found a comprehensive failure of adequate data gathering, although from the records of three police forces says there is an "over-representation" of Asian and Pakistani men. She is concerned about the politicisation of the debate, the risks of racists hijacking the issue, and most profoundly, about fixing a system which still sees girls subject to heinous abuse at the hands of male predators.

Baroness Casey came in to speak to Emily and Lewis, as the Prime Minister backed her call for a new national inquiry.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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