On today’s Daily T, Grant Harrold recounts his extraordinary journey from a terraced house in North Lanarkshire to serving as butler to the then Prince of Wales at Highgrove.

Harrold’s boyhood fascination with the Queen set him on a path that ended with a critical role in the inner sanctum of every day Royal life, and he tells The Daily T how a young Prince Harry dropped water bombs on him, how the Queen’s mischievous nature saw him sprinting along a corridor with her at Charles’ residence in Scotland, and how Prince Philip turned the air blue after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018.

He also states his belief that, although having left the household by then, Harry and Meghan’s unflattering account of life in the Royal family “doesn’t ring right” to him.

‘The Royal Butler: My remarkable life of royal service’ by Grant Harrold is published by Seven Dials on August 28 2025

Producer: Georgia Coan

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inflation has reached its highest level since January 2024, fuelled by soaring air fares and rising food prices. 

Despite Keir Starmer’s repeated claims that Labour are bringing inflation down, the figures are saying otherwise, laying the ground for a tax grab from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves which will attack the middle-classes. 

Tim Stanley and Jacob Rees-Mogg discuss how we got into this mess, the latest immigration data, and Kemi Badenoch’s future as the leader of the Tories. 

And they’ll also be joined by Maurice Glasman, the Labour peer, academic and the man behind “Blue Labour”, who has spent years challenging his own party. He tells us what he thinks about Labour’s first year in Government, his latest trip to Ukraine and why phone snatchers should be publicly humiliated.

Producer: Georgia Coan

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The High Court has ruled against housing asylum seekers at The Bell Hotel in Epping, granting a temporary injunction that could reshape the UK’s asylum policy. Local councils, including Broxbourne, are now considering similar legal action, raising the question: where will migrants go if more hotels are closed?

In this episode of The Daily T, Camilla and Tim discuss the political fallout of the Epping ruling, the future of migrant hotels across Britain, and how the Labour government will respond. 

Will ministers attempt to overturn the decision, or risk a wave of councils following suit? With a record 50,000 migrants crossing the Channel since Labour took office and Reform’s Nigel Farage hailing it “a great victory”, the pressure is mounting on the government.

And we talk about the rise of the “Pink Ladies” - the local mothers leading peaceful protests outside asylum hotels - and the growing grass roots movement they represent. Lindsey Thompson, an Epping resident and one of the original protestors, joins us to explain why she took to the streets and why the campaign is gaining national attention.

Producer: Georgia Coan

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday’s much-anticipated summit in Washington, which saw a host of European leaders accompany Volodymyr Zelensky to The White House for talks with Donald Trump about achieving peace in Ukraine, has been talked up optimistically by all who were present.

However, with Donald Trump today ruling out American boots on the ground as part of any security guarantees for Ukraine, and Zelensky ruling out Vladimir Putin’s offer of a bi-lateral meeting in Moscow - two of the key takeaways from the meeting - was anything really achieved in Washington?

On today’s Daily T, former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace tells Camilla and Tim that the summit was “relatively pointless” and “nothing really came of it”. He makes the point that Donald Trump has never applied serious pressure on Putin - such as through the increased use of economic sanctions - to bring him to the table, as well as outlining his worry that Trump will end up rewarding Putin with “ground that he hasn’t already taken”.

Producer: Georgia Coan

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Production assistance from Antoinette Omole

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following a remarkable summit between the US and Russia in Alaska at the weekend, talks on ending the war in Ukraine continue at pace with a phalanx of European leaders accompanying Volodymyr Zelensky for major discussions with Donald Trump in Washington later today.

Keir Starmer is part of an extraordinary show of support for the Ukrainian president, with fears that Trump is pushing Zelensky to accept the demands Vladimir Putin made in Friday’s Anchorage summit - namely that he wants full control of the Donbas region as part of any peace settlement. 

Camilla and Tim explain what we know about how today’s crucial discussions will play out, what a good outcome looks like for Ukraine, and whether Starmer’s carefully nurtured relationship with Trump could be the key to a positive outcome.

Producer: Georgia Coan

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Executive Producer: Charlotte Seligman

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. David Bull, the new chairman of Reform UK, is an unlikely politician. He made his name as a TV doctor and presenter, even hosting a live ghost hunt. But he played a key role in the transition of the Brexit Party to Reform and even says the name of the party was cooked up in his kitchen. 

He takes on the role from Zia Yusuf – who quit in dramatic fashion earlier this year – and after a period of splits and infighting.

Tim visited Dr Bull at his home in Suffolk, where they spoke about his previous lives as a Tory candidate and as a Brexit MEP; his paranormal experiences; and his relationships with Rupert Lowe and Nigel Farage. 

Producers: Lilian Fawcett and Georgia Coan

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Social Producer: Ece Celik

Camera Director: Aaron Wheeler

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Keir Starmer proving as unpopular and unpalatable to the left as he is to the right, Jeremy Corbyn’s new - and as yet untitled - political party joins Reform UK in presenting a very real threat to Labour’s chances of re-election in 2029.

In this episode of The Daily T, Tim Stanley and Gordon Rayner talk to Ash Sarkar - journalist, Corbyn-supporter and co-founder of left-wing media organisation Novara Media - about how that new party could form a potentially fatal electoral pact for Starmer by teaming up with the Greens in 2029.

As well as her dissatisfaction at Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, she also talks about how Reform have outflanked Labour on the left with talk of nationalising utility providers like Thames Water, and why she “previously underestimated Nigel Farage” but is now “taking him a lot more seriously”.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok

Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Social Producer: Ece Celik

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The shadow home secretary has said he was confronted by a man with a machete and had glass bottles thrown at him while visiting a migrant camp in Calais.

Chris Philp speaks to Tim and Gordon just after the “hair-raising” incident, and what is could tell us about some of the people crossing the Channel illegally. 

Plus, a new documentary featuring leading medical experts has cast fresh doubt on serial child killer Lucy Letby’s conviction. We hear from the journalist behind Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt?

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok

Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Social Producer: Ji-Min Lee

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three and a half years in to Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the Russian and American presidents are set to meet in Alaska - possibly to decide its outcome over the heads of European leaders.

Having long insisted that Kyiv would not cede any territory to Russia, Ukraine’s President Zelensky could now be softening on that position.

Tim and Gordon are joined by Ukraine: The Latest hosts Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley to understand how this historic summit could play out.

Plus, we read Nicola Sturgeon’s memoir so you don’t have to. The Telegraph’s best-known Scot Alan Cochrane reviews her political record.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok

Read: Ukraine prepared to cede territory held by Russia

Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Will Walters

Social Producer: Ece Celik

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour have admitted to failing white, working-class children in Britain. 

Writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says it’s a “national disgrace” that so many pupils are being left behind, pointing to an alarming rise in school absence whilst all-important attainment figures go the other way. 

Having inherited a strong schools system from the Conservatives, Gordon Rayner is joined by former Tory education minister, Sir Nick Gibb, to try and understand what’s gone wrong. Gibb believes Labour “didn’t do the work in opposition to try and understand how to improve” and that they’ve been “listening to the teacher unions too closely”.

Plus, Tim and Cleo speak to Lawrence Newport - the co-founder of Looking for Growth, a campaign group that wants to kick-start our flailing economy. Newport, who made his start in political campaigning by getting XL bully dogs banned, says our politics is fundamentally broken, too slow and too ineffective - echoing one of his group’s backers, Dominic Cummings.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok

Read:

White working-class pupils ‘written off’ by society, admits Phillipson

Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Senior Producer: John Cadigan

Planning Editor: Venetia Rainey

Video Editor: Andrew Mackenzie

Social Producer: James Simmons

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.