i was briefly recruited by mi6 when i was at university. >> how did that go? >> not very well, really. i enjoyed it. i wanted to be recruited. i sort of -- i hung around the particular tutor who i knew was the recruiter. eventually, he sent me to meet a man. i enjoyed it. i did it for a little bit. it became clear quickly that as i have demonstrated, i can't keep a secret. i wasn't the right person. i don't like keeping secrets. i like revealing them. it's more fun. it left me with a long fascination for that world. i think it's a wonderful world. it has built into it a moral -- a central moral conundrum. spies do bad things sometimes for good reasons. >> who is your favorite among the novelists? this may not be the same question. who comes the closest to getting it right, past or present? >> past john lacarry. he was also a friend of mine. he was incredibly helpful to my writing. you mentioned "a spy among friends." that story came from him. he gave me that story on a walk when i was fishing around for a new book. he said, i have a really good idea. he knew o

i was briefly recruited by mi6 when i was at university. >> how did that go? >> well, not very well, really. i enjoyed it. i i wanted to be recruited. so i sort of hung around the particular tutor i knew was the recruiter. eventually he sent me off to meet the man in white hall. i did it for a brief while. it became clear quickly, as demonstrated, i can't keep a secret. i don't really like keeping secrets. i like revealing them. it's much more fun. so, it left me with a long fascination for that world. i think it's a wonderful world. it has built into it a kind of moral -- a central moral conundrum. spies do bad things sometimes for good reasons. >> who's your favorite among the novelists? and who comes the closest to getting it right? past or present. >> past, john lecarie. he was also a friend of mine. he was incredibly helpful to my writing. you mentioned "a spy among friends," that story came from him. he gave me that story on a walk in hempstead east one day. i said, i don't know what to write. he said, i have a good idea. he knew one of the protagonists

joining me tonight are former mi6 intelligence officer, christopher steele and former speech writer for president obama, david litt. the perfect panel in mind of everything that is going on, but before that the latest bbc news. the veteran labour politician lord mandelson is expected to be named the new uk ambassador to the us. he served in multiple ministerial roles under prime ministers tony blair and gordon brown. a government source says it's sending someone with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. republicans in the us congress have said they have come up with a new stopgap funding bill to avert a looming government shutdown. they say the deal includes a suspension of the debt limit until 2027. luigi mangione, who's accused of shooting dead the head of america's biggest health insurance company, has appeared in court in new york after being extradited from pennsylvania. he faces four federal charges, including stalking and murder, in addition to the state charges he was already facing. the french prime minister, francois bayrou, h

china described mi6 business dealings.s recruiting two people that they said were trying to spy on china. the point is that surveillance is something both countries deal in. it is striking a balance between security and business interests. there was a hope in china that after keir starmer met xijinping, there would be a reset, they would be able to co—operate on places where they have shared interests. but the problem now is that there will be furrowed brows in beijing, because they will see these allegations as britain saying that china is simply a threat. in the last hour, the foreign secretary has said a uk delegation has been sent to damascus to meet members of the group now controlling syria. it comes as it appears that bashar al—assad, who was forced out of power a week ago, has issued his first statement since he left the country, claiming he never planned to step down, but left syria at the request of russia. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. where is bashar al—assad ? he hasn't been seen since he fled syri

earlier this year, china actually turned the tables on the uk and accused mi6 of recruiting a couple spies against china. their wider point there is that both sides engage in surveillance, but when it comes to the wider uk—china relationship, there's always this balance to be struck, certainly by uk, between business interests and security concerns. and there was a feeling, certainly after keir starmer met with xi jinping just a few months ago at the edge of the g20, that perhaps there had been a restart of this relationship, that perhaps there was going to be a way that the uk and china could cooperate where their interests are shared. however, what there will be in beijing when they wake up and see this row and see the the response in parliament will be furrowed brows because they will see this response in the uk as them being accused once again of simply being a threat. let's speak to lord chris patten, former governor of hong kong. thank you very much for your time today and joining us on the programme. how would you describe or categorise the relationship between the uk in china

people seem to think that what happens mi6 will bring up after the last war and say, we've got the nextne for you here. it doesn't quite like that. this is not one that the intelligence services will find very easy. i suspect. but yeah, i mean, i wish they sort of to one but. but yeah. and i say this this this comes from a sort of from a tip off. yeah. do you ever get back from the intelligence community and the intelligence community? i mean, i get sort of criticism but they yeah. i mean, sometimes they disagree with my conclusions or or i mean, so the one i wrote about like go the ascii, the spot, the spy and the traitor. that was interesting. that one i had. i had considerable cooperation from for that they they they didn't prevent from interviewing their officers who'd been involved some they are more about i mean some affect national security this story i did allow the sas one particular person in the sas to read it not they had no editorial but the only thing that i took out of this book was some contemporary capability, as they call it, that there are things that they did at this

joining me tonight are former mi6 intelligence officer, christopher steele and former speech writer foriple ministerial roles under prime ministers tony blair and gordon brown. a government source says it's sending someone with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. republicans in the us congress have said they have come up with a new stopgap funding bill to avert a looming government shutdown. they say the deal includes a suspension of the debt limit until 2027. luigi mangione, who's accused of shooting dead the head

question t0 former mi6 intelligence officer, # grandma got run over by a reindeer # walking home fromas song that came out in the ' ' :: , . , . the 1970s and they felt that the 1970s and they felt that the singers _ the 1970s and they felt that the singers behind - the 1970s and they felt that the singers behind this - the 1970s and they felt that - the singers behind this thought it would — the singers behind this thought it would be more fair tojust explicitly say that this is a christmas song that ends in a death— christmas song that ends in a death so— christmas song that ends in a death so they wrote grandma got run over— death so they wrote grandma got run 0ver by a reindeer. i am jewish— run 0ver by a reindeer. i am jewish and my wife is not so i was _ jewish and my wife is not so i was new— jewish and my wife is not so i was new to christmas and i heard — was new to christmas and i heard the song driving to meet her parents to spend christmas with them and i was deeply confused. laughter many people over the have clearly _ many people over the have clearly been deeply confuse

a round of applause for mi5, mi6 friends. a round of applause for m15, mi6 and friends.und of applause for mi5, mi6 and gchq friends. a round of applause for m15, mi6 and gchq holding the fort while britain's borders are leakier than a cheap colander from poundland, hundreds of thousands of fighting age men wandering about this country with sudden onset amnesia. no names , no backstory, no names, no backstory, no passports. they're more lost than sleepy joe biden at an international summit. but don't get too comfy just yet in your safety and security, because mi5's safety and security, because m15's top dog, ken mccallum, he's just done a podcast where he's just done a podcast where he says they're making uncomfortable choices as a vital service. what's the translation there? what does that mean? they're shelving counter—terrorism efforts because chasing down russians , because chasing down russians, setting fire to the police and assassinating dissidents is the new day job. jolly good. so with their plate piled higher than a list of keir starmer, starmer manifesto breac

a round of applause for mi5, mi6 friends. a round of applause for m15, mi6 and friends.und of applause for mi5, mi6 and gchq friends. a round of applause for m15, mi6 and gchq holding the fort while britain's borders are leakier than a cheap colander from poundland, hundreds of thousands of fighting age men wandering about this country with sudden onset amnesia. no names , no bac

first up, shocking racism at mi5 and mi6. get through. first up, shocking racism at mi5 and mi6 . but racism at mi5 and mi6. but first, the news headlines. and joe caspar . joe caspar. >> thanks, mark. it's 9:02. i'm joe caspar in the gb newsroom this evening. the prince of wales has met with us president elect donald trump in paris. william travelled to the french capital today for the ceremony. reopening of notre dame cathedral. following a fire in 2019. mr trump gave william a pat on the shoulder before the two shook hands and spoke for a few seconds. william was greeted in the rainy french capital by a president, emmanuel macron, and his wife brigitte. his plans were disrupted by storm daragh. he had originally been scheduled to meet mr trump before the cathedral event. william is expected to discuss the us, uk relationship with mr trump and mrs. biden . ex—owner elon musk mrs. biden. ex—owner elon musk was among the high profile names from around the world, including italian prime minister giorgia meloni and former french presidents francois hollande and nicolas sarkozy. earl

in the interest of national security— mi6 in the interest of national security and it's very rare tohis is what we _ week to have a look around and this is what we found. it's one of the most secret buildings in the world. to get in, you need to go through airport style security, which we weren't allowed to film, and you have to hand your phone in, which we were. do you think of yourself as a spy? well, people describe what they do here in a whole host of ways, and some people do use that term. shehzad charania is head of legal affairs. he's one of the very few people here whose face we can show. can i start at the very beginning? what is gchq and what does it do? so gchq is the uk's intelligence, security and cyber agency, and it's one of three intelligence agencies that sits alongside m15 and m16. and so we intercept communication signals, analyse those and keep the uk safe from threats, whether they emanate from terrorists, individuals, or hostile states. there are more than 6,000 people here. analysts, linguists, technicians intercepting and interpreting communications. at the he

and does pope francis owe his life to mi6? state of the nation starts now.l also be joined by my formidable panel, former conservative mp sirjohn redwood and historian and broadcaster doctor tessa dunlop. as ever, i want to hear from you. let me know your views. mail margaret gb news. com but now it's your favourite time of the day. the news bulletin with joe caspar. >> good evening. it's just gone. 8:00 i'm joe caspar in the gb newsroom and your top story this evening, sir keir starmer has today held a call with us president elect donald trump. the prime minister's spokesman said both men agreed on their joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the us and the uk. mr starmer and mr trump reiterated the need for allies to stand together with ukraine in the face of russian aggression. the prime minister also emphasised the importance of securing peace in the middle east. the two men were also said to have looked forward to seeing each other at the earliest opportunity. pleas of not guilty have been entered on behalf of axel ruda

is mark dolan tonight in the big opinion, shocking racism in our security services as mar five and mi6 block white british students from applying for a course. i'll give you more on this national scandal and this outright racism in just a moment in the big story, neil and christine hamilton are all over the papers today with their campaign against solar panels, which they argue is a blight on the landscape. they join me shortly, calling out the worst excesses of net zero. developing tonight , itv excesses of net zero. developing tonight, itv star gino d'acampo is reportedly being axed by itv over claims of inappropriate behaviour. meanwhile, greg wallace blames his autism for his actions. but is this trial by media and our greg wallace and gino d'acampo being thrown under the bus.7 i'll and gino d'acampo being thrown under the bus? i'll be joined by one of the country's top lawyers, who has concerns about these huge stars facing a public kangaroo court. these huge stars facing a public kangaroo court . and in the take kangaroo court. and in the take at ten, the bbc compose a list of th

this is a warning from an ex—mi6 boss over isis prisoners who could flee, or thousands of jihadis beingeld in syria pose a threat to the west security. >> if they're released, there's a saydnaya prison if i've pronounced that correctly. >> in damascus, which which holds apparently up to or more than 10,000 people, and some people have been in there for for, decades, there's reports that there are a lot of its underground. >> so people have never seen the light of day. >> they've got families down there because they've been down so long. the inmates are, you know , inter, they're mixed. know, inter, they're mixed. >> it's actually mixed. the cells. >> they've been down there so long. it's like jurassic park . long. it's like jurassic park. >> they've found a way to breed without mono or whatever it is. >> yes. okay. >> yes. okay. >> but i mean this is a lot of people, if they if they get out, a lot of them are hardcore jihadis. >> i should imagine being held in a top security prison in damascus. didn't, like, do anything to rehabilitate them. and some of them, or a big portion of them we

this comes as a former mi6 chief warns there could be a serious spike in the threat posed by islamic state in europe , and billionaire property europe, and billionaire property tycoon nick candy becomes the latest defector from the tory party. >> we'll be hearing from him and reform uk leader nigel farage in the next few minutes. >> yes, you won't want to miss that one. we're also going to be joined this hour by england rugby legend and world cup winner lawrence dallaglio , winner lawrence dallaglio, because he's campaigning against the widening gap between boys and girls in british education. it's a pretty alarming prospect, isn't to it, think that potentially the prisons have been released and potentially british jihadis, people, extremists who've gone over to syria to fight for islamic state or whatever, could actually now be returning to britain. >> well, quite possibly a dozen hardened islamic state fighters is what the telegraph was reporting this morning. it is a huge issue, isn't it.7 particularly when we're going to have an influx of potential. lots of refugees from syria co

a white british student, you are a white british student, you are banned from some jobs in mi5 and mi6 and the host of the fifa world cup 2034 will be saudi arabia. should the sharia kingdom of saudi arabia really be hosting the world cup? on my panel this evening is the director of popular conservatives, mark littlewood, landlord and activist adam brooks, and journalist and broadcaster nina myskow. i wonder, can you tell me what was going on here? i'll reveal all shortly. get ready britain, here we go. why are we giving benefits to people who can't speak a word of english? next. >> very good evening to you from the newsroom. the top story tonight. well, after years of what prosecutors called horrific abuse, three members of sarah sharif's family have been found guilty over her death. today. her father, irfan sharif and stepmother, benazir bhutto, were convicted of murder, while her uncle, faisal malik, was found guilty of allowing her death. despite being known to social services since birth, the ten year old suffered unimaginable violence, including being beaten with a cricket bat an

perhaps we never will be, because this is the nature of this being quite secretive and the work of the mi6actly has happened here that is illegal, that has got him barred from the country because, you know, he's claiming he's not a spy. he's acting effectively as some form of trade envoy, as was prince andrew. in reverse. the lines are very blurred. it's very difficult to see how much pressure the prime minister really is under, 1549 00:08:03,120 -