Does the government want to sack the BBC boss?
Labour used to be the party that leapt to the defence of the BBC. So why was the Culture Secretary this weekend calling for heads to roll, saying she was "exasperated" at the broadcaster, and refusing to express confidence its director general Tim Davie?
The BBC has admitted to failings in its Glastonbury coverage, which saw it stream one act chanting "death to the IDF" - despite the corporation later admitting it had deemed them "high risk" before the festival. But those admissions don't appear to have satisfied the government. Is Labour falling out of love with the BBC? And should the BBC be worried? Jon and Emily discuss with Sir Craig Oliver, former BBC News editor turned Downing Street director of politics and communications.
Later, on the twentieth anniversary of the 7/7 bombings, which killed 52 people, injured more than 700, and led to the largest criminal investigation in British history - have we learnt the lessons from the tragedy? Yasmin Khan, a human rights campaigner and friend of the de Menezes family, appears in the Netflix documentary 'Attack on London', and came in to News Agents HQ.
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
The News Agents
Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast: The News Agents.
They’re not just here to tell you what's happening, but why. Expect astute analysis and explanation of the day's news – and a healthy dose of scepticism and the ability to laugh at it all when needed.
Episodes are available every weekday afternoon. You can listen to The News Agents on Alexa, just say "Alexa ask Global Player to play The News Agents"
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- No. of episodes: 854
- Latest episode: 2025-07-15
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