The News Agents

Elon Musk popped up at Tommy Robinson's march in London on Saturday, calling for parliament to be dissolved, overthrown and for people to fight or die. So, that’s all normal. UK Politicians by and large seemed to think that was all fine. So is the far right now normalised to such a degree even the government won’t properly call it out? And who are all these people lining up alongside Tommy Robinson - a man once considered a racist and a thug by many?

Later, the MP for Wiltshire Devizes has just switched parties without a by-election. Conservative Danny Kruger, formerly a mate of both Boris Johnson and Robert Jenrick, declared his party dead. And has joined Reform. How will his constituents feel about that? And how can you blame "successive government failure" when you have been part of it?

You can listen to Andy Hughes report from Tommy Robinson's rally here: https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrtP74/

Visit our new website for more analysis and interviews from the team: https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/

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

Nicola Sturgeon has a message for Keir Starmer. Stop legitimising Nigel Farage - or you’ll make him the next PM.

Scotland’s former first minister has done a lot of reflecting since she left office. In an extended interview we talk about her fractious relationship with Alex Salmond, her conclusions on her gender ID policy, the police investigation that saw a blue “murder tent“ erected in her garden, and whether she could have won Scottish independence if she’d led the campaign.

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

A special interview today with a sprinter - who ironically - is living proof that it’s NEVER too late to start! Eugene Amo-Dadzie has shot to stardom as ‘The World’s Fastest Accountant’, literally balancing spreadsheets with sport until he was 26 years old!

Last month he tied his hero Linford Christie’s 100M time and became the joint second-fastest British man over 100m (9.87). It’s an amazing story that has led all the way to the start line at this weekend’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and you’re gonna love him!

Plus we'll look back on another star-studded week on the show as Gabby hit the trading floors of the City at a charity event to catch up with the likes of John Terry, Michael MacIntyre, Maro Itoje, Keira Walsh and many more. Earlier in the week we reflected on Daniel Levy's legacy in North London after he was 'removed' as Spurs' Chairman after 24 years!

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Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides

Producer: Sophie Penney

Video Producer: Sam Trudgill, Sam Folayan and Rory Simon

Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland

Guest Booker: Kirsty Giddings

Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network

Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".

👕 The Sports Agents have merch! You can buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-sports-agents

American flags are flying at half mast today to honour the memory of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and MAGA influencer shot dead at a university event in Utah.

It is hard to state how influential Kirk was in attracting younger voters towards the Republicans. Donald Trump has said he was influential to his 2024 election campaign.

In a White House video, Trump said the “radical left” were "directly responsible" for the "terrorism" now present in America, by comparing “wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers”. He pledged that it would be put to a stop. Other MAGA commentators have gone further, claiming that the US is at war and that American conservatives cannot co-exist with liberals. What does Kirk's death mean for American politics now? And why are some British politicians claiming that Kirk spoke "common sense", when his views were so out of kilter with public opinion?

Later, how damaged is Keir Starmer by Peter Mandelson's resignation as our man in DC - less than a week out from Trump's state visit?

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

Lord Mandelson has admitted there may be more embarrassing emails and correspondence between himself and the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The US ambassador was speaking to The Sun the day after a birthday message emerged calling Epstein his “best pal“, and just as the Telegraph revealed details of a business deal that Mandelson worked on with Epstein AFTER he had been convicted.

Keir Starmer has stood by his ambassador but failed to answer Kemi’s PMQs question - did he know about these dealings when he originally signed off the job? Can Mandelson stay in his role? And why is Starmer determined to defend him.

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

A US congressional committee has made public the 'birthday book' allegedly given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 to mark his fiftieth birthday. In it, messages, photos and drawings from his friends - including Donald Trump.

The White House is furiously denying that the American President ever submitted a drawing to Epstein, insisting that the signature is not his. Democrats have called it "revolting" and "sick". After spending so long shouting about an Epstein cover up, how wounded are Trump and the Republicans by the latest revelations?

Later, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, on the "addictive" algorithms he thinks are making the world a more dangerous place - and his proposals to reclaim the internet.

And, the Labour deputy leadership race heats up. Why it might have Keir Starmer sweating.

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

Labour's new home secretary Shabana Mahmood has barely got her feet under the desk, but already the rhetoric out of the home office has changed. Countries that don't "play ball" on migrant returns could lose visas - Mahmood stressing she will do "whatever it takes" to secure Britain's borders and stop the boats.

Her appointment appears to be a tacit admission that Labour's first year has failed on migration - and in response, it looks like Keir Starmer has tacked right in the hope of beating off Reform. On welfare, suggestions too that Labour could be set to reattempt their botched reforms of last term - more pain for Labour's left.

If Starmer's reshuffle pushes this Labour government to the right - how does that fit with Labour's deputy leadership contest? Already senior Labour figures like Andy Burnham have been out of the traps to criticise the shake up and suggest an alternative prospectus for government. And with a contest set to drag on for weeks and weeks, will the race to succeed Angela Rayner risk unpicking Starmer's attempt to show his government has turned a page?

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

Keir Starmer announced 'Phase 2' of his government on Monday - a reset of his Downing St operation supposed to get Labour gripping the agenda and on the front foot for the year ahead.

Just four days on, the PM faces his biggest test yet. Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, housing secretary, and deputy Labour leader resigning after a breach of the ministerial code for not paying the correct tax on the purchase of a flat in Hove.

In response, Starmer is undergoing a sweeping reshuffle - only the chancellor Rachel Reeves was told her job was safe ahead of time.

What happens now? Could a left-wing candidate cause Starmer a major political headache if they run to replace Rayner as deputy leader? Will Rayner become a lightning rod on the backbenches? Does Starmer risk creating yet more enemies in sacking cabinet ministers?

Can Starmer use this moment to bolster his authority - or is it his most destabilising day in office?

Former Super Bowl champion Jason Bell joins Gabby and Mark to talk about the NFL's biggest transfer drama of the summer, which puts the Alexander Isak saga to shame. We're talking about a huge standoff, the highest paid non-quarterback in history and a new Super Bowl favourite. (05:30)

Plus we look back at this week on The Sports Agents. Former Premier League striker, Troy Deeney, joined us after deadline day as we asked, should Marc Guehi should have thrown a transfer tantrum like Isak? And with Olympic medallists still owed millions of dollars from Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track - what went wrong? That's with The Athletic's Adam Crafton and agent Paul Doyle. (01:00)

📩 Got a question? Send it here: https://forms.gle/9SBbW1SYWqXLKnRT7

💭 Tell us your thoughts in our listener survey: https://forms.gle/YMUvajQktqBuimgh6

🖥️ Watch our full episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SportsAgentsPod

📱Follow us on socials:

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thesportsagents

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesportsagents/

X - https://x.com/sportsagentspod

📥 Email: [email protected]

Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides

Producer: Sophie Penney

Video Producer: Sam Trudgill, Sam Folayan and Rory Simon

Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland

Guest Booker: Kirsty Giddings

Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network

Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global

You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".

👕 The Sports Agents have merch! You can buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-sports-agents

The morning after Nigel Farage appeared in Washington DC to berate his own country before Congress, the News Agents decamped to a Farage-free zone; his own constituency of Clacton-on-Sea.

On Capitol Hill, Farage warned that the UK was turning into "North Korea" due to the restrictions on free speech laws. He urged the US not to follow Britain down this path - even urging Donald Trump to slap sanctions on his own country if it forces big tech companies to follow UK law rather than America's.

We’ve been asking people here how they feel about their MP slagging of his - and their - country in America? Does they think he has a point? Or is Reform's leader simply being deeply unpatriotic?

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