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Imagine a loan where the Government sets the terms. It can change the terms at any time, and you have no recourse to alter them yourself. A loan designed so most people never clear it, but pay for it anyway. Not because they failed, but because that’s how it was built. This is the system successive British governments have built. In this episode of The News Agents, we examine the relations of our student loan system and ask how can it be that the UK government has built a system that you might say would make a loan shark blush? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

The Winter Olympics are here! What sport are we all going to pretend to be an expert at? Curling maybe? Today Gabby and Mark are joined by one of Great Britain’s biggest medal hopes, freestyle skier Kirsty Muir. She started skiing at 3 years old on the dry slopes of Scotland - imagine the carpet burn doing flips on that surface! Her nan can’t even watch when she does the huge tricks. This year she’s already won gold at the X Games and her third World Cup title. So can she win gold in Italy? Plus, we catch you up on the best bits from The Sports Agents this week, from Carlos Alcaraz's historic victory in Australia, to Gabby being pranked by Roger Federer at Wimbledon, and a big look at the Super Bowl this weekend. 📩 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 Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland 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

Keir Starmer apologised this morning for appointing Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US. He said he should never have believed "the lies" of Mandelson. He says he understands the "anger and frustration" of Labour MPs. But is he in a position to win back the support of his own party? How close is he to the brink? And - if Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was widely known at the time of his appointment - what is the PM actually apologising for? One of those concerned Labour MPs, Brian Leishman, tells us that Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney needs to leave Downing Street, and serious changes need to take place if Starmer is to stay on as Prime Minister. Later, Emily discusses the infamous Andrew Mountbatten Windsor photo with Virginia Giuffre. It was real after all and the former Prince lied to her when he said he'd never seen it. So what next for Andrew? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson "lied repeatedly" about the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and said that he regrets appointing the Labour Peer as US ambassador in 2024. But with the relationship between the men well known, questions about the Prime Minister's political judgement are looming. Could this be the moment that brings down the Prime Minister? Later, Sir Brian Leveson on why the courts system faces potential collapse without major reform - and the calls to resurrect his investigations into phone hacking and the media. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Things are moving at quite a pace these days, but at the time of writing Peter Mandelson has relinquished his peerage and the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to hand over Mandelson's emails to the police. The Republican campaign group has also called on the police to investigate Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Will any of this lead anywhere? Or is it all just noise? And why have the Clinton’s now decided to testify before Congress on what they knew about Jefrey Epstein? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and insists he "doesn’t recall" receiving tens of thousands of pounds from Jeffrey Epstein but has now called for "an investigation...by me“ to check. What was he doing lobbying for the paedophile billionaire from the heart of government? And what retribution if any should he now face? Keir Starmer has called for his peerage to be removed. But is Keir the only person who can actually make it happen? Later we hear from tax expert Dan Neidle on whether criminal charges could be brought. And what do the 3 million strong Epstein files tell us more widely about who was at the heart of this global power network - where corruption, paedophilia , and cover-up flourished? Since recording, the SNP and Reform have reported Peter Mandelson to the police over allegations he released confidential government documents to Epstein whilst in public office. The Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru have also demanded the police investigate. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Keir Starmer is historically unpopular. When he entered Downing Street, his approval rating stood around +10%. Now? The Prime Minister languishes around -50%. It's the steepest drop in support for any governing party still in its infancy. 8 out of 10 people say that Britain is getting worse as a place to live under Labour's watch. One poll conducted towards the end of last year suggested that even Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had more public confidence than Keir Starmer's government. What on earth is going on? What explains such an instant - and decisive - turn in public mood away from a party and a Prime Minister elected in a landslide? As the Andy Burnham saga has illustrated this week, questions around Keir Starmer's authority seem a permanent feature of the news agenda. Was it always this way? Or is there something new, something unique, to Britain and British politics in 2026? David Runciman is a professor, an author, and host of the Past Present Future podcast. He is one of Britain's leading thinkers on democracy, power and the state. His book, 'How Democracy Ends', observed the new threats to our political model and honed in on the very modern rot inside the representative democracy of the twenty first century. Lewis paid him a visit - at his home in Cambridge - for a conversation about whether politics here is now ungovernable, whether political authority is now impossible to maintain, and whether democracy itself is indeed coming to an end. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

You’ve likely seen the viral video of Coco Gauff smashing her racket in a corridor at the Australian Open. She tried to go somewhere without cameras and failed. Now she's complaining the only private place is the locker room, Novak Djokovic says it's like "big brother", Iga Swiatek thinks they're "animals in a zoo". Content is king but at what cost to player privacy? Isn’t this the kind of access we all wanted to drive sports broadcasting forward and grow the sport? The bigger the sport - the more financial reward for players, so why complain? Or are we in danger of forgetting they’re only human? Jamie Murray, former world number one doubles player, and Molly McElwee, tennis journalist and author of "Building Champions", join Gabby and Mark. Plus, we look back at the best bits of The Sports Agents from Manchester United to a very English embarrassment at Champions League success to two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath. 📩 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 Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland 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 election offices of Fulton County were raided by FBI agents yesterday morning. Fulton, in the state of Georgia, was at the heart of Donald Trump's claims six years ago that he’d won the 2020 election (he didn’t). Why are ballot boxes of archived votes now being removed from the premises? Is this still about a six years ago old grudge? Or does it presage Trump's plan for the November midterm elections? We speak to the Commissioner on the premises who watched the action unfold before her eyes. Later - offensive language warning - the Reform councillor on the Redcar ballot - who got through Nigel Farage's self-admittedly “piss poor“ vetting system. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Kemi Badenoch has told her party not to get in her way as she steers it further to the Right. Is this the correct assessment of what the Conservatives needs to attract voters back? Or is she way off? Later, Trump has threatened Iran with his big beautiful armada. Does he have any concern for the protestors getting killed in their tens of thousands thousands? Or is this all about US interests? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Donald Trump's tone on Minneapolis has changed in the last 24 hours. He’s now having conciliatory meetings and phone calls with State Governor Tim Walz and the city's Mayor Jacob Frey. And it looks like he’s removed his Border Commander Gregory Bovino and put him out to pasture in California. What's behind the change of heart? Was it the polls? The murder of American citizens? Or the fact that his administration’s account of the killings has been flatly caught out by camera evidence. Is his ICE policy in meltdown? Or just on hold? Later - how extremism is climbing in the UK pushed by social media algorithms - Andy Hughes from The Crime Agents joins us. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has renounced the party that gave her power, and defected to Reform. She's telling us today that Britain is broken and “she” (Britain, not Suella) was “suffering”. Are Reform better off with her? Are the Tories better off without her? And has it been enough of a distraction from the Andy Burnham saga to give Keir Starmer a lucky break? Later, is Trump panicking about his ICE strategy after the latest murder of a US citizen on the streets of Minneapolis? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

In Minneapolis right now, there are more ICE and border patrol agents than there are police officers. The national guard - the army - is on standby to deploy to the city. Everybody in the city has a story about being targeted by ICE. Many now carry passports on them when they leave the house. If they are fortunate enough not to have been stopped themselves, they will know a neighbour, a friend, a colleague or a relative. Some Minnesotans literally do not know where their family have been taken. State senators have told The News Agents there is "a war against the State" being waged by the federal government. And in this new kind of authoritarianism, there has been a remarkable reaction. Citizens taking to the streets on patrols, huge community mobilisation, delivering food and goods to those too afraid to leave their homes. Plane spotters, monitoring ICE deportation flights that the administration no longer publicly records. If that all sounds like a democratic breakdown - there is a good case to be made that this is exactly what is happening, what Donald Trump is intent on unleashing on a Democratic stronghold that is home to America's largest Somali community. Lewis has this special report from Minneapolis and St Paul in Minnesota.

Everyone’s been talking about the Beckhams and Naomi Osaka this week. Hard to believe a family feud and a jellyfish outfit at the Australian Open have anything in common - but where Sir Alex Ferguson used to fight to keep David Beckham's focus on the pitch, sport is now embracing fashion like never before... Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams pictured at the Met Gala, Stella McCartney designing Arsenal kits, and the famous NBA Tunnel Walks. Have we all grown up enough to appreciate that athletes having other interests doesn’t mean they aren’t distracted from getting the win? How much money does Naomi Osaka going viral as a jellyfish make for brands and athletes? And should more sports be using fashion to grow the game? Gabby is joined by The Athletic's Tennis Correspondent, Charlie Eccleshare, and Mayowa Quadri, Football Culture Writer and Head of Brand at Versus. Plus, we look back at the best bits of The Sports Agents this week: should managers like Oliver Glasner and clubs like Crystal Palace should accept their place in the football food chain? And is a female coach in the Premier League really the holy grail or not? 📩 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 Social Media Editor: Calum Scotland 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

Originally intended to be a small group overseeing a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump's Board of Peace has evolved into something much bigger. Apparently "a lot of great people" want to join, but who’s going to pay the billion dollars to sit on it? And what are Trump's real aspirations for the Board of Peace? On today’s show we try and break down what he’s hoping to achieve, whether the UN should feel threatened and why there’s no mention of Gaza in the draft text. Later, we are joined by Peter Frankopan - did Trump “get" Greenland or has NATO just found a way to make him think so? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/