Why are men in balaclavas descending on an Oxfordshire village?

Why are men in balaclavas descending on an Oxfordshire village?

Author: Global September 15, 2026 Duration: 37:43

It's referendum day in Piddington. A symbolic gesture that would see it "ceding from the UK" over their frustration with the setting up of of an asylum centre on their doorstep. They’ve argued that 1250 single foreign men is too much for their modest village of 350 to handle. But now - guess who’s coming to the rescue? Danny Tommo and his masked Patriot Platform - seemingly backed by Reform's Sarah Pochin, who's said protestors would "not be unwelcome" in the village. Is this what the people of Piddington wanted?

Later, Donald Trump has told us all not to worry about the myriad warnings coming out about AI and its potential to kill us all. He's got the ultimate guardrail. And it turns out, it's him. Should we all sleep easier tonight?

The News Agents is a Global Production.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://grp.hsbc/TheRightConnections


Every weekday afternoon, Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall gather to make sense of the noise. Their The News Agents isn't a simple bulletin; it's a conversation between three of the UK's most experienced journalists who have seen the machinery of government and media from the inside. This daily podcast from Global focuses on the forces shaping our world, dissecting the headlines from Westminster and beyond with a sharp eye for what really matters. You'll hear them pull apart political strategies, question the official narrative, and trace the connections between today's breaking story and its deeper roots. What sets this show apart is their collective tone-a blend of genuine expertise, natural scepticism, and the occasional necessary laugh at the absurdities of the news cycle. They provide context where others just provide clips, aiming to answer the persistent "why" behind the "what." Tuning into this podcast feels like getting a direct, unfiltered briefing from colleagues who know the landscape intimately, making the complex flow of daily events not just comprehensible but genuinely engaging. It’s analysis designed for anyone who wants to move past the soundbites.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The News Agents
Podcast Episodes
Is a financial collapse coming worse than the Wall St crash? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:23
Andy Burnham hasn't even been Prime Minister for two weeks, but the early verdict is positive. He's looked decisive, commanded the agenda and projected authority. The question is: will that matter?New governments often t…
Eddie Howe quits Newcastle... Why now? - The Sports Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:53
As Eddie Howe dramatically quits Newcastle 3 weeks before the start of a new Premier League season, Mark Chapman & guests unpack the financial meltdown which led to Newcastle losing their most successful coach for 70 yea…
Why is MAGA trying to jail America's top doctor? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:18
Dr Anthony Fauci became a world-renowned figure during Covid - one of America's top virologists with a lifetime of public service to his name. And yet, in a Senate committee yesterday, he was condemned in the strongest t…
Is Andy Burnham betting his premiership on fixing social care? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:58
Andy Burnham has set out plans to fix England’s struggling social care system - promising a new National Care Service, cross-party talks and a review designed to tackle a system he says is no longer working. But how quic…
Should Polanski be arrested for his Farage Insta post? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:38
Reform UK has referred Green party leader Zack Polanski to the police for "inciting murder" after a post he shared on social media.The image, shared and then deleted on Instagram, showed a man wearing a tee shirt with th…
Burnham's best mate on what the PM does now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:49
It's hard to think of a political alliance as tightly bonded as Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram. Both northern MPs who vacated Westminster to lead their respective City regions, they have even co-authored a book - 'Head…
Could Andy Burnham be the most important PM since Thatcher? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:07
There's been a flurry of policy announcements in Andy Burnham's first week as PM - but there is something more significant in the words he has been using to describe his mission. He's talked about reversing forty years o…
Are Farage and Polanski already yesterday's men? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:00
Whisper it quietly - but are we witnessing the strange rebirth of good, old-fashioned two party politics?Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch are now the only party leaders with net approval ratings among the public. Labour an…