Starmer + Badenoch Clash Over Grooming Inquiry

Today, the Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned after growing pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.The Labour MP last week referred herself to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus - but insisted she has done nothing wrong. She said in a letter today that whilst Sir Laurie found she had not breached by the Ministerial Code that "it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of Government.” Chris and Adam are joined by political and investigations correspondent Joe Pike.And, Israel and Hamas are thought to be close to agreeing a deal which could halt the war in Gaza and see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Adam is joined by diplomatic correspondent James Landale. And Newscast turns 5! You can apply for tickets below for Newscast’s 5th birthday party live show.https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/newscast-birthday-5feb25You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the announcement of a new AI Action Plan and the government’s hope that it will make the UK a world leader in AIIn a speech Sir Keir Starmer laid out the government's plans to use AI across the UK to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently. Adam and Chris are joined by the BBC’s AI Correspondent, Marc Cieslak.Plus, we look at what today’s announcements mean for the NHS. Adam speaks to Dr Maxine Mackintosh, AI and health expert and Sana Khareghani, former head of the UK government office for AI about how AI could transform the NHS.And Newscast turns 5! You can apply for tickets below for Newscast’s 5th birthday party live show. https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/newscast-birthday-5feb25You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Laura, Paddy and Henry discuss the government's plan on AI and how social media giants are impacting British politics. Also, why is Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq being asked to resign?You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg, Paddy O'Connell and Henry Zeffman. It was made by Chris Gray with Bella Saltiel. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Paddy and Laura discuss Rachel Reeves’ trip to Beijing to meet with her Chinese counterpart. But some of the opposition are saying she shouldn’t have gone at a time when soaring government borrowing costs threaten to squeeze UK public finances.And, after Meta announced it will no longer employ factcheckers and will boost political content, a grieving father - Ian Russell - tells Laura why this announcement will hurt children.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was hosted by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Gray with Bella Saltiel. The technical producer was Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at Donald Trump avoiding jail, and any punishment, over charges of fraud relating to hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels.Adam is joined by Caitriona Perry, the BBC’s chief presenter in Washington, and Gary O’Donoghue, the BBC’s senior North America correspondent.And, 2024 was the first year to exceed the key global warming threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures. Adam talks to Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of the Climate Change Committee, which marks the UK government’s homework on… climate change.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Teodora Agarici and Anna Harris. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the wildfires still raging across Los Angeles, where five people have been killed and more than 175,000 have been evacuated.Adam speaks with BBC’s Los Angeles correspondent Emma Vardy about the extent of the damage and the rescue operations. And Politico’s California environment reporter Camille von Kaenel explains why President-elect Donald Trump blames the Democrats for the damage caused. Plus, as the pound falls to its lowest level in over a year, at the same time UK borrowing costs hit their highest for 16 years - What is going on with the economy? Adam and Chris are joined by economics editor Faisal Islam to explain. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Teodora Agarici and Anna Harris. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at the debate over a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal playing out in the House of Commons.The issue was voted on because of an amendment to a Labour bill that will introduce changes to the education system. Chris unpacks the politics, education editor Branwen Jeffreys explains the changes, and political correspondent Tom Symonds talks about what victims are calling for.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Anna Harris and Teodora Agarici. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at why Meta is bringing to an end the use of independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram - and replacing them with ‘community notes’. In a video posted online Mark Zuckerberg said third-party moderators were "too politically biased" and it was "time to get back to our roots around free expression". Adam is joined by Vivian Schiller, vice president and executive director of Aspen Digital, and former head of news at Twitter.And, as Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to launch a UK-wide investigation into grooming gangs, Adam speaks to Tom Symonds, the BBC’s political correspondent, and Alison Holt, the BBC’s social affairs editor, about what was learnt from past inquiries into child sexual abuse. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Teodora Agarici. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, we look at Keir Starmer’s response to what he calls “lies and misinformation” being spread over grooming gangs. It comes after multi-billionaire Elon Musk accused Sir Keir Starmer of being "complicit in the rape of Britain" during his time as director of public prosecutions (DPP) for failing to tackle grooming gangs. Adam and Chris discuss the PM’s response in a press conference on Monday, and reflect on what impact Musk and President-elect Trump are already having on world politics. Adam and Chris are also joined by Stephen Kinnock, the Care Minister to talk through the government’s plan to tackle hospital backlogs. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Teodora Agarici. The technical producers were Philip Bull and Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today we look at Nigel Farage’s friendship with Elon Musk and what he wants to get out of it. Laura’s been talking to the Reform UK leader, who’s defended Musk after he attacked the government's response to grooming gangs on X.Paddy and Laura are joined by Gawain Towler, former director of communications for Reform UK. Plus, Laura has been speaking to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting about why the government has set such a long timescale on it’s proposed social care reforms.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Anna Harris. The technical producer was Daffyd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.