The News Agents

We are on the ground in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, where Europe and Asia meet. For weeks hundreds of thousands of (overwhelmingly) Gen Zs have taken to the streets to protest against their government. The gates of Parliament have been stormed, tear gas repeatedly deployed, protesters beaten up and with even a fist fight among MPs thrown in.

The clash has centred on the governing Georgian Dream Party’s “Foreign Agent” law, whic...

This week on The Sports Agents former England defender Rio Ferdinand joined us to discuss the stigma around mental health in football and whether teams are now better equipped to work with players who are struggling.

We were also joined by Jadon Sancho's former youth coach and mentor Sayce Lewis-Holmes to find out more about the level of pressure on aspiring footballers today.

Plus, with a huge final couple of days in the Premier L...

Keir Starmer has rolled up his sleeves, taken off his tie and headed to Essex to unveil his six first steps for government.

Is Starmer looking for Blairite comparisons? Is there the same enthusiasm for change as there was in 1997? And what are the hard questions Labour still needs to answer, but won’t?

Later we speak with Lewis in Tblisi ahead of another critical day of protests by those fighting the Russification of democracy in Ge...

In an exclusive early interview we speak to the Government's Independent Advisor on Political Violence.

John Woodcock, a cross party peer, has spent the last four years putting together recommendations to make public life safer by cracking down on extreme protest.

He'll present his findings to parliament next week. Why do we need this? And which groups is he talking about banning? Is this a clampdown on democratic norms or a necess...

We have a real live government Secretary of State with us in News Agents HQ today - David TC Davies insists the election still winnable for the Conservatives  - and says if you want to see what Labour would do in power, then look at the mess unfolding in Wales. Is he missing something or are we?

Later, Peter Conradi - author of Who Lost Russia - takes us gently through all that is unfolding right now in Russia, Ukraine and Geo...

If it had been a speech about defence, it might have made more sense. But Rishi Sunak had no new policy offerings in todays pronouncement - he warned of a scary future under Starmer - then started talking about football shirts, ozempic, civic duty, literacy, and optimism.

It was, in essence, an electioneering speech - criticising labour for blaming the Tories for the last 14 years.

Meanwhile his Common Sense Minister Esther McVey h...

Lewis Goodall hosts a special report from Port Talbot, South Wales, where thousands of jobs are about to be lost at Tata Steel.

Port Talbot is Britain's last great steelworks, and a community has been built around it for generations. But Tata has announced 2,800 job losses across the UK as part of the closure of the site's blast furnaces and a transition to greener steelmaking.

We visited the site and the town itself, to assess the i...

This week on The Sports Agents, Gabby & Mark took a closer look at a controversial new rule in cricket - the impact player in the IPL - and whether it's introduction became a threat to the fabric of the sport.

The Telegraph's Nick Hoult joined us in the studio to discuss it's impact on the game and whether the current domestic schedule demands too much from players.

And with the 'fight of the century' a week away between Tyson F...

Did the Labour Party screw up in welcoming Natalie Elphicke into its party?

One former frontbencher tells us Keir Stamer got this wrong.

They're calling on him to now re-admit Dianne Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn into the Labour fold.

Has Keir just made his life much harder in search of onesexy headline?

Later, Is Biden about to stop arms sales to Israel - and why doesn't the Speaker of the House know about this?

And what's happening t...

Very little political news is truly jaw dropping. But this morning's was. Natalie Elphicke, on the Conservative right of the party, and MP for Dover, has defected to Labour.

She crossed the floor before Prime Minister's Questions and was warmly welcomed by Keir Starmer. It was not so long ago that Rachel Reeves was telling Elphicke to "fuck off", after her comments about Marcus Rashford. And it was not so long ago Elphicke herself ...

The government is determined not to let a little thing like a disastrous set of local elections put it off its stride.

Over the course of the bank holiday we were told that 'the plan is working... it just needs a little more time'.

Labour is having none of it - accusing the PM of 'gaslighting' the public over the state of the UK economy.

But what if the economy DOES start to improve? What if inflation DOES start to fall? Can the pu...

The local election and mayoral results flood in.

How bad are they for the Tories? How much of that is Reform? And how well have Labour actually done?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus

Producer: Laura FitzPatrick

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

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This week on The Sports Agents, Gabby & Mark explored whether a Premier League salary cap will actually help smaller clubs bridge the gap to the 'Big 6' and if it could lead to a bigger drain on top English talent...

Former Lioness Jill Scott was in the studio to explain why Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham is the obvious candidate to succeed Bayern Munich's Harry Kane as England captain - as they went head-to-head in the Champion...

After several delays, Brexit checks finally came into force this week - adding cost and delay to how small businesses can get their goods into the UK. It'll see prices pushed up on the consumer's end too.

But, you won't hear either main party discussing this in great detail. Why? As an election issue - it's almost radio silence - even as the UK becomes the worst performing economy in the G7.

We'll hear from Peter Foster from the Fina...

As of this week, Rishi Sunak can boast he has sent asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Admittedly, it was just one guy. Admittedly he was paid £3k to go. Admittedly he'd already failed the asylum test to remain in Britain and admittedly - crucially - he went voluntarily. This is NOT the same forced deportation plan that Rishi promised would "stop the boats".

But don't let pesky details get you down. The headline - conveniently dropping be...

If the Palace of Westminster were a village - the Head of Counter Terrorism police tells us - NO one would dare to live there.

Today we ask why so many of our MPs face threats to life - and what it's doing to our democracy more broadly, in terms of how they vote and speak out.

Also, should we be concerned about actual terrorist acts from countries like China and Russia and Iran - are they operating on our streets - without the publ...

On the stroke of midday, Humza Yousaf, Scotland's First Minister, made the announcement that just a week ago would have been unthinkable.

Acknowledging the miscalculations he made in the sacking of his Green cabinet members last week - and the confidence vote he would - in all likelihood - have lost - the head of the Scottish government resigned.

For fifteen years the SNP have been a political behemoth in Scotland - writing the rul...

In 2024 Britain nearly 140,000 kids are homeless. Just because you don’t see them on the street doesn’t mean they’re not there. This is Britain’s temporary accommodation crisis, one which is worsening.

Temporary accommodation was once a safe harbour for a few days, a week, a month or so at most.

Now, thanks to rocketing rents and inadequate housing supply, more and more families find a single room in a hotel or accommodation block ...

This week on The Sports Agents...

A Premier League launched an attack on VAR via their social media account - and threatened legal action... Is there actually any legal recourse for victims of a dodgy offside decision? The Athletic's David Ornstein joined us on the pod to discuss the chaos at Nottingham Forest.

Ultra-marathon runner Jasmine Parris then spoke to Gabby & Mark about becoming the first women to ever complete the Bar...