As the Iran ceasefire descends into confusion and fresh strikes raise fears of a wider regional war, Julia Hartley-Brewer asks the question many Britons will be thinking: why is Keir Starmer posing as a global statesman abroad when he cannot even control the English Channel at home?
Brendan O’Neill, Chief Political Writer at spiked, joins Julia to tear into the misinformation surrounding Israel, Hezbollah and the wider Middle East crisis. He argues that much of the media coverage deliberately ignores the scale of the missile threat Israel has faced, slams those in Britain who excuse or glorify Hezbollah, and warns that anti-Israel activism on the streets has exposed a deeply worrying moral collapse on the Left.
He also lays into Starmer’s Gulf trip, saying it is laughable for a Prime Minister who has failed to stop the small boats to pretend he can help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Julia and Brendan also discuss Britain’s vulnerability to rising oil, gas and fuel prices, and why decades of net zero dogma and political cowardice have left the country dangerously weak, over-dependent and exposed to global shocks.
Also: retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe, gives Julia his blunt assessment of the so-called ceasefire, Donald Trump’s bombastic rhetoric, and whether America has really stepped back from the brink.
And: Ben explains why mixed messages from Washington are fuelling instability, why NATO has been damaged but not broken, and why Britain and its allies must get tougher on Russian aggression, shadow fleet tankers and Moscow’s testing of Western resolve.
Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.
Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker.
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