Laura and Chris join Adam to discuss the government’s free school meal voucher U-turn. And Fergus has the latest on a “cheap as chips” drug that can help save the lives of seriously ill coronavirus patients. Producers: Frankie Tobi, Nat Ktena, Georgia Coan
Assistant Editors: Sam Bonham and Emma Close
Studio Director: Emma Crowe

A Rashford decision

The UK’s flagship daily news podcast from the BBC, Newscast dives into the day’s big stories so you’re never out of your depth.
 
Newscast picks the brains of BBC News experts so you’re ready if someone picks yours, covering the latest developments in politics in Westminster and beyond, what the cost of living means for the money in your pocket and the impact of climate change.
 
Can Rishi Sunak turn the Conservatives fortunes around? Will Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party win the next general election? Newscast will give you all the best insights from BBC News so you’re across all the day’s top stories. 
 
Newscast is hosted by trusted journalists including Adam Fleming, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. Joined by special guests, including Lyse Doucet, Katya Adler, Marianna Spring, John Simpson and Victoria Derbyshire among others. In this election year, Newscast will track all the developments from Westminster - as well as following all the big developments around the world, from the race to the White House, to the war in Ukraine. Catch Newscast seven-days a week and watch on BBC One at 23:40 on Thursday night or later on BBC iPlayer
 
GET IN TOUCH:
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
Send us a message or voicenote via WhatsApp to 03301239480
Email Newscast@bbc.co.uk
Or us #Newscast Newscast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Newscast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Americast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Newscast (and if you’re reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd
The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
Americast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p07h19zz
Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm

News

Today, we look at Labour’s plan to renationalise most rail services within five years, if it wins the next election.  Labour say a new public body would take over current contracts when they expire, taking on the responsibility for running services. But transport secretary Mark Harper said the plans were "unfunded". Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh joins Adam and Alex to talk through the plans, and answers the question - why is wifi so bad on some trains? And, comedian and social media star Michael Spicer talks about his new sketch podcast No Room.  You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
 
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Miranda Slade.  The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Rail Britannia?

Today we look at a bill which would force TikTok’s owner to sell its US arm, or face being banned in the country. It’s driven by fears that user data is shared with the Chinese government. TikTok has called the law "unconstitutional" and says it will "challenge it in court”.  Adam speaks to BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman, and head of social media for German broadcaster DW, Johanna Rudiger. Plus we hear from Chris, who has been with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 
 
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
 
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. Today's Newscast was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Sam McLaren and Gemma Roper and Natasha Mayo. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Is the clock ticking for TikTok in the US?

Today, we look at Rishi Sunak’s promise to spend billions more on defence. Sunak said UK military spending would rise to 2.5% of national income by 2030. The prime minister was in Poland to pledge £500 million in extra support for Ukraine, but claimed the extra money for defence would put the UK’s defence industry "on a war footing". Adam is joined by former armed forces minister, James Heappey MP. And, the day after the government’s Rwanda policy passed through Parliament, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Tom Symonds has been speaking to migrants in northern France who are preparing to cross the Channel to get to the UK.  And, the BBC’s Africa correspondent Barbara Plett Usher has been to see where the migrants will stay when they arrive in Rwanda. 
 
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
 
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gemma Roper and Sam McLaren. The technical producers were Gareth Jones and Matt Hewitt. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Sunak Goes on the Defensive

Today we look at the Safety of Rwanda bill, which passed through parliament tonight after a back and forth with the Lords.
 
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says it will allow his government to put asylum seekers on flights in “10-12 weeks”.
 
Chris joins Adam to discuss how we got here, and what happens next.
 
And presenter Huw Edwards has resigned from the BBC on “medical advice from his doctors”. He has been off air since last July, after reports were published which claimed he paid a young person for explicit images. Adam speaks to culture & media editor, Katie Razzall.
 
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Joe Wilkinson and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Matt Hewitt. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

The government’s Rwanda policy takes off

Today, we look at the US Congress approving $61 billion of funding for Ukraine.  
 
Laura and Paddy are joined by the political editor of BBC Newsnight Nick Watt to help unpick the day’s top stories.
 
Paddy’s been speaking to the former Director-General of the Defence think tank, the Royal United Services Institute, Michael Clarke, about the significance of the US military aid package for Ukraine.
 
And the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho was on Laura’s show defending the government’s approach to climate change.
 
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
 
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. Today's Newscast was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gemma Roper. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The editor is Sam Bonham

A Rashford decision

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