The Daily T

The Strategic Defence Review is out. Designed to be a root and branch look at all aspects of Britain’s armed forces, and billed as a “message to Moscow”, the message no doubt reaching the Kremlin is – Keir Starmer doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.Just as the Prime Minister appeared to be pulling back from his commitment to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, a record 1200 small boats crossed the Channel on Saturday. Can this Labour Government be trusted to defend Britain?Elsewhere, Chief Reporter Robert Mendick fills us in on the story of Hamit Coskun, the 50 year old Turkish asylum seeker who’s been convicted of a public order offence after setting fire to a copy of the Koran.We want to hear from you! Email us at TheDailyT@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok.Producer: Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ruby BorgVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleOriginal music by Goss Studio

Since Hamas's brutal terror attack on Israel in October 2023, the military campaign in Gaza has drawn both support and, lately, mounting international criticism – as civilian casualties rise, aid deliveries stall, and warnings of famine grow louder.Israel says the war is not one of conquest, but of the survival of the Jewish state.In this special episode, Tim Stanley sits down with Israel’s ambassador to the UK. Tzipi Hotovely says her country is still suffering the trauma of October 7th; argues the West is wrong about aid blockades in Gaza; and says that Jews no longer feel safe in the West.We want to hear from you! Email us at TheDailyT@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok.Producer: Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ruby BorgVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleOriginal music by Goss Studio

There's never a dull moment in the White House when Donald Trump is the president. Elon Musk yesterday began "offloading" from his role overseeing the 'DOGE' programme, after coming to the end of his 130 day limit as a special government employee. But rumours abound of a falling out between Musk and Trump, with the South African-born businessman criticising the president's "One Big Beautiful Bill" in an interview yesterday, claiming that the programme of massive tax cuts would actually raise the federal deficit, undermining his work cutting government spending.In this episode of The Daily T, Kamal Ahmed speaks to Michael Wolff - Trump biographer and author of four behind-the-scenes books about the president - to find out what really happened between Trump and Musk. They also talk about how the president will react to the shock news that his global tariffs have been blocked by a US federal court. We want to hear from you! Email us at TheDailyT@telegraph.co.uk or find @DailyTpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok.Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian Fawcett Senior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ruby BorgVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleOriginal music by Goss Studio

With just two weeks until Rachel Reeves’ spending review, there are calls from across the Labour frontbench for more cash — just as the Chancellor needs to tighten the purse strings.But perhaps the most striking intervention comes from the UK's top police chiefs — including Sir Mark Rowley — who today warned that the Government's crime targets will suffer if funding is slashed. This comes despite a £3bn increase in funding and 20,000 new officers since 2016.Can Rachel Reeves balance economic control with growing spending demands from her own party? And does she risk being outflanked by Nigel Farage's Reform UK?Elsewhere, away from Westminster, King Charles is in Canada at the state opening of parliament — and did he make a not-so-subtle dig at Donald Trump’s ambitions to annex his northerly neighbours?We want to hear from you! Email us at TheDailyT@telegraph.co.uk or find @DailyTpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok.Producers: Lilian Fawcett and Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ruby BorgVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleOriginal music by Goss Studio

Nigel Farage says he’s coming for Labour voters, and he’s bringing a bold new benefits policy with him. The Reform UK leader is promising to lift the two-child benefit cap and offer bigger tax breaks for married couples, in a direct pitch to working-class families.Speaking in central London, Farage claimed support for Labour is “collapsing” and challenged Sir Keir Starmer to a head-to-head debate in a northern working men’s club. Kamal and Cleo were at the event to bring us the mood in the room and dissect what Farage’s game play means for both Labour and the Tories.Plus, we’re joined in the studio by shadow chancellor Mel Stride who says Farage’s plans are “fantasy economics” that could put our economy at risk.We want to hear from you! Email us at TheDailyT@telegraph.co.uk or find @DailyTpodcast on X, Instagram and TikTok.Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla Tominey

Donald Trump’s niece has famously called him a “narcissist” and “the world’s most dangerous man”.In part 2 of a Daily T deep-dive into the US president, Kamal speaks to psychologist, author and vocal Trump critic Mary Trump, whose father Freddie was Donald’s older brother.She shares revealing insights into the Trump family dynamic, describing a toxic, misogynistic environment where “cruelty was currency” - context she says is key to understanding the 47th president.Later, Mary Trump addresses Kamala Harris’s catastrophic loss in the 2024 US presidential election: Joe Biden’s health, the fallout from that chaotic debate, and how the Democratic Party can win again.Producers: Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla TomineyProduction assistance from Fran DiFazio

Jason Miller has been by Donald Trump’s side since 2016.One of his longest-serving strategists, Miller has had a front row seat during the remarkable last decade of American politics, as he helped Trump beat Hillary Clinton, watched on as he lost to Joe Biden in 2020, and then became a crucial part of his 2024 re-election campaign.Camilla talks to Miller about how he’s survived so long in the volatile Trump-orbit, the strategy behind the president's Oval Office confrontations with world leaders, and why his boss is “absolutely a genius”.Having just got off the phone to the president as he arrived at the studio, there are very few people who know Trump better.Producers: Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsVideo Editor: Andy MackenzieStudio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla Tominey

Inflation has risen to 3.5%, putting fresh pressure on the Bank of England and on households already feeling the squeeze. But that’s not the only storm brewing for the Labour Party. A leaked memo from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to Chancellor Rachel Reeves has exposed a growing rift at the top of the Labour Party. In an exclusive report, our political editor Ben Riley-Smith reveals how the two are at odds over tax hikes on savers and investors and what the row means for Labour’s economic credibility ahead of the next election.And we speak to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, about the state of policing and our justice system right now - from Lucy Connolly’s prison sentence to Southport victim Leanne Lucas calling for sharp bladed kitchen knives to be banned. Producers: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ji-Min LeeVideo Editor: Valerie Browne Studio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla Tominey

Twenty-four hours after Keir Starmer announced a shift on fishing rights and closer alignment with the EU, the backlash has been fierce. Reform are already expecting to take seats from Labour in the next General Election thanks to the Brexit “reset” deal, with deputy leader Richard Tice accusing Starmer of having “surrendered the fishing industry” to the EU.On today’s episode, Camilla and Kamal unpack the fallout from the Prime Minister’s big “reset” and discuss the key moments from both his statement in Parliament and leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch’s fiery response as the Tories slip to fourth place behind Labour, Reform and the Lib Dems in a major poll. And it was one of Britain’s biggest medical scandals. Thousands were infected with HIV and hepatitis through contaminated blood products in the 70s and 80s, including children at a specialist school called Treloar’s. Camilla speaks to Richard Warwick, a survivor, and journalist and author Cara McGoogan ahead of a new ITV documentary on the scandal and why survivors still haven’t had their compensation.Producers: Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyExecutive Producer: Louisa WellsSocial Media Producer: Ji-Min LeeVideo Editor: Valerie Browne Studio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla TomineyOriginal music by Goss Studio