The Daily T

Keir Starmer was probably hoping today would be another chance to reset his premiership, following the departure this weekend of Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff.Instead he's been hit first by the departure of Tim Allan, his director of communications, and then by Anas Sarwar, the leader of Labour in Scotland, who became the most senior figure from his party to urge the PM to resign.Camilla and Tim speak to Lee Cain, former director of communications to Boris Johnson, to find out what it is like to be in Downing Street as a government comes to an end. They also react to the news that Thames Valley Police are assessing claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor forwarded sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein while he was trade envoy.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing was meant to signal a reset in Britain’s relationship with China. Instead, it has sparked fresh questions about how far the UK should go in courting a global superpower accused of sliding back towards authoritarian rule.On today’s Daily T, Camilla and Tim speak to bestselling author Jung Chang, whose latest book Fly, Wild Swans traces China’s path from the horrors of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the Xi Jinping era. Chang argues that Western leaders are ignoring uncomfortable truths about modern China, and warns that the country risks drifting back towards a darker past.She also reflects on her own extraordinary story: growing up under Mao, watching her father persecuted, and eventually escaping to Britain, where she would go on to write one of the most influential accounts of modern China ever published. So, as Britain looks east for trade and diplomacy, are we forgetting the lessons of history?We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganAdditional production from Annabel HoganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Lucy Letby is modern Britain’s most prolific child killer.The former neonatal nurse was convicted of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill seven more. But medical experts and others have since raised serious doubts about the evidence used to convict her and some are now calling the case one of the greatest miscarriages of justice ever.In an exclusive interview, The Daily T speaks to Letby’s lawyer, who tells Camilla Tominey he is convinced she is innocent – and reveals her state of mind as she serves a whole-life order in prison.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion by Labour MPs over his handing of the Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Labour backbencher Andy McDonald tells Camilla and Tim the PM is “hanging by a thread” after the Government was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on the release of Mandelson’s vetting documents.Elswhere, Kemi Badenoch tells Camilla that “someone should lose their job” over the “number one” sleaze scandal of modern times.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Keir Starmer was given a grilling at Prime Minister’s Questions this lunchtime, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch forcing the Prime Minister into admitting that he was aware of Peter Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein at the time of his appointment as US ambassador, but decided to press ahead with the move anyway.Starmer, for his part, threw the one-time party grandee to the wolves, saying Mandelson had “lied repeatedly to his team, had “betrayed” his country with the apparent leaking of sensitive financial documents and “regretted appointing him”.On today’s Daily T, Camilla and Tim reflect on whether, with his own MPs turning on him again, and his self-ascribed reputation of being a squeaky clean man of integrity lying in tatters, Keir Starmer himself is now finished.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Peter Mandelson is under criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police over claims that he leaked confidential government emails to Jeffrey Epstein.The Labour peer finally stepped down from the House of Lords today following a damaging week for the Government, after newly released material laid bare his relationship with the convicted sex offender.The revelations have intensified pressure on Labour and reopened questions about why the twice-disgraced former Cabinet minister was brought back into the fold time and again.Camilla and Tim assess what Lord Mandelson’s resignation means for Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, and Tim explains the web of Labour relationships that linked Mandy to Epstein.Plus, attention turns again to Andrew Mountabatten-Windsor, amid reports he could imminently leave Royal Lodge for accommodation on the Sandringham estate as a potential criminal investigation hangs over him.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Amongst the three million files released by the US department of justice pertaining to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, two people in particular emerge badly: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson.Camilla and Tim reflect on the calls for Lord Mandelson to be stripped of his peerage following the revelations, including that he leaked confidential government documents to the disgraced financier. They also question why Keir Starmer ever appointed him as US ambassador.Later, royal biographer Andrew Lownie assesses the damage to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, after pictures emerged of the former Duke of York on all fours over an unidentified woman.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducer: Lilian Fawcett and Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Knife crime in the UK has reached “national epidemic” levels, with 53,000 offences recorded in England and Wales in the year to March 2025. But how has this tragedy become so dangerously normalised, and what is the Labour government actually doing to tackle it?We look into the tragic killing of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was murdered in 2022 with a ninja sword purchased online by two 17-year-olds in a case of mistaken identity. Ronan’s mother, Pooja Kanda, joins us to discuss the campaign that led to ‘Ronan’s Law’ - banning these deadly weapons and increasing sentences for illegal sales. Pooja also talks about the now-closed company, DNA Leisure, which sold the sword that killed Ronan and is linked to multiple teenage murders. Plus, we’re joined by The Telegraph’s crime editor, Martin Evans, to break down the latest government response, including the new Knife Licensing Consultation and the launch of the National Knife Crime Coordination Centre.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducer: Georgia Coan Senior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey

Since being forced to resign over a mini-Budget that spooked the markets, Liz Truss has become something of a bogeyman for not just the Left but the Tories too.But Ms Truss insists she was “sabotaged” by the Bank of England and the Blob, and that Britain is being run by an “unelected technocracy”.The former prime minister tells Tim and guest host Rachel Johnson how she was “radicalised” by being in government; why she admires Donald Trump; and, with Keir Starmer in Beijing this week, how “British officialdom is beholden to China”.Plus, she reveals whether she would join Nigel Farage’s party, following Robert Jenrick’s defection, and warns: “the Blob is trying to infiltrate Reform”.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducer: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey