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PODCAST

The Crime Agents

If you want to understand what’s really happening on Britain’s streets, you need to hear this. The Crime Agents, the new podcast from the makers of The News Agents, goes beyond the headlines to uncover the truth behind crime that affects all of us. Why is violence rising? Why is public trust in the police collapsing? And what’s really driving young people to kill each other? Hosted by two insiders who have spent their lives chasing the answers, this is your front-row seat to the realities of

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All Episodes

42:32

The secret world of child terrorists

The Crime Agents ·

2025/09/10

In the last year, a child has been arrested almost every week by counter-terrorism police. That's a record - but why is this happening? And who is trying to radicalise these children? In this special episode, Andy speaks exclusively to an undercover intelligence officer to find out more about this shocking rise in minors being held on terror charges. Neil gives his reaction to the revelation that kids as young as 11 have been accused of these crimes - and explains why the severity of the extreme

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30:45

The real life Line of Duty: how to catch corrupt cops

The Crime Agents ·

2025/09/02

If you've ever watched Line of Duty and wondered how realistic AC-12 really is, then this is the episode for you. For the first time, Neil takes us behind the scenes of his four years working in anti-corruption units - and reveals the impact it had on his popularity among his fellow officers.Andy and Neil also examine why there is such a history of corruption within the police, and Neil assesses whether policing is more honest now than when he started his career 35 years ago. Later, they discuss

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41:40

'Two-tier' policing: are cops tougher on some...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/27

All summer, Britain's police have been kept busy by a range of protests. From demonstrations outside asylum hotels, to marches in support of Palestine Action, thousands of people have taken to the streets to make their voices heard from across the political spectrum. But have the police handled these protests even-handedly?To answer that, Andy and Neil go back to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common in 2021, to look at the origins of so-called

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41:51

What’s the future of Notting Hill Carnival?

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/20

Notting Hill Carnival is Europe's biggest street festival. It's been a fixture of London's cultural scene for decades and it's attended by millions every August Bank Holiday. But the event also regularly attracts negative headlines, with several murders and many more violent incidents in the last few years. So should Carnival be allowed to continue in its current form? On the eve of this year's event, Andy and Neil take a look at the history of Notting Hill Carnival and why it's so important for

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24:24

Q&A: Should police reveal suspects' ethnicities?

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/17

The Q&A is back! In this week's episode, Andy and Neil answer your questions on one of the major talking points from last week: an announcement of new guidance suggesting police should reveal the ethnicity of suspects in 'high-profile and sensitive' cases. Is greater transparency a step forward? Or could this lead to more racial tensions in the UK? Tune in to hear which way Andy and Neil think it will go.Plus: has social media helped or hindered counter-terror police in their efforts to foil

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40:48

Cocaine and punching police horses: inside football...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/13

You've seen The Football Factory and Green Street. You remember the chaotic scenes at Wembley for the Euro 2020 final. And for years you've heard hooliganism described as 'The English Disease'. But what is the reality of football hooliganism in the UK in 2025? This week, Andy tells the story of when he infiltrated one of the country's most notorious football firms, and Neil explains how even experienced police officers were shocked by the volume of Class A drugs being used by so-called fans who

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29:40

Policing, politics, prejudice: 30 years on the frontline

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/11

In this week's bonus episode, Andy quizzes Neil on some of the most memorable moments from his 30 year policing career. For example, Neil tells the harrowing story behind his most memorable murder case - the 2003 shooting of drug dealer Tony Byfield and his 7 year old daughter, Toni-Ann - and the unlikely way he and his team eventually cracked the case. Neil also explains why being too outspoken cost him the chance to become Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police - aka the country's top cop - and

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34:15

Inside a Manhunt: on the tail of an armed drug dealer

The Crime Agents ·

2025/08/06

When a criminal goes on the run, what do police do to try and catch them? In this episode, Andy is given exclusive access to a Met Police firearms unit who are on the tail of an armed drug dealer. Listen to find out exactly what happens when a manhunt starts - and whether the police can get their man.Later, Andy and Neil look back on one of the most famous British manhunts of all: when Raoul Moat when on the run back in 2010. Andy explains how Gazza and Ray Mears ended up with cameo roles in the

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42:09

Broken justice: why criminals are getting away with it

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/30

Why are there 5 year backlogs in some of Britain's courts? Why are our prisons so full? And why doesn't any government seem interested in fixing the broken criminal justice system? In this week's episode, Neil and Andy look at who is to blame for breaking the system - and if it's too late for anything to be done to repair it.Andy explains the maddening reality of a day in court - and why Britain's once-revered judiciary has been allowed to become a 'shambles'. And Neil gives his view on whether Keir

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29:58

Is the far-right hijacking legitimate immigration...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/28

Protesters gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping for a 5th time this weekend - and there were also demonstrations outside other migrant hotels in several more towns around the UK. Andy went to Epping to see the protest for himself - and to find out if the far-right is trying to exploit the legitimate concerns local people have about these hotels and illegal immigration. Hear what happened when Andy confronted Callum Barker - a prominent member of the far-right Homeland Party - at Sunday's

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25:34

Q&A: Were the Sycamore Gap vandals given too long a...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/25

Can it be right that the two men who needlessly felled the iconic Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall were sentenced to four years in prison? After all, that's the same as the minimum sentence for someone convicted of rape. That's one of the questions that Andy and Neil tackle in this week's bonus episode of The Crime Agents - listen to hear whether they think this is an example of a judge bowing to the weight of public opinion, or fitting punishment for a crime that shocked the country.They also

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48:44

How to foil a terror plot

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/23

No one ever forgets a terror attack. But what about the dozens which are foiled at the last minute? Or the threats which are stopped in their tracks months before they can become a reality? In this episode, Neil reveals the most memorable attack he ever thwarted in his time as Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, and the details of how police, MI5 and GCHQ work together to stop terrorists from committing mass murder. Meanwhile Andy explains how he too helped to uncover a terrorist cell in Manchester

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24:56

Q&A: Should Shamima Begum be allowed back in the UK?

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/17

Neil and Andy address the controversial issue of Shamima Begum, and whether it's right that she was stripped of her British citizenship, in this week's bonus episode. Neil recalls the moment when the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid interrupted his meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May to announce that he'd made that decision - and the pair discuss whether Begum should be allowed back in the UK now.They also answer your questions on stop & search: invaluable tool for fighting knife crime, or a

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52:30

Death threats and the bomb squad: infiltrating the...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/16

Andy is one of only a very small number of journalists to have successfully gone undercover and infiltrated the far-right. In this episode, he reveals for the first time what happened when the group found out his true identity - and why he needed a visit from the bomb squad and around-the-clock police protection.Andy also explains why people are attracted to join these groups for real - and tells the story of what he was asked to do for his initiation into one of the UK's most dangerous far-right

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25:11

Q&A: Were the police and journalists too cosy during...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/10

One year ago, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies while working as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Many believe she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice - and in this week's bonus episode, Neil and Andy answer your questions on the idea that police were briefing against Letby to journalists during her trial. Andy covered that trial - so did that really happen? And can we have confidence in her conviction? Listen to find out what The Crime Agents think about the

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48:06

Mission creep: Why are Britain’s police forces at...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/09

Police officers are increasingly forced to spend their time doing jobs they were never meant to - and that other public services are simply too stretched to respond to. This week, Neil and Andy discuss the intervention by Britain's top cop, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who's called for police to be allowed to focus on fighting crime rather than social work. Neil and Andy analyse what difference that would make, and whether the Commissioner has the Home Secretary's support in calling for

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24:59

Are Palestine Action really terrorists?

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/04

Palestine Action – the extreme activist group that infiltrates and vandalises military sites and defence firms - is to become a banned terrorist organisation. But very little is known about its members or supporters.The Crime Agents host and LBC crime correspondent Andy Hughes went along to meet them as they protested outside Downing Street on the day MPs voted to proscribe Palestine Action. He spoke exclusively to former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who this week quit to form her own party with Jeremy

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50:28

Inside gangs: Why are children killing each other?

The Crime Agents ·

2025/07/02

In this week’s episode of The Crime Agents, investigative journalist Andy Hughes reveals the inner workings of Britain’s most violent street gangs.He’s joined by his co-host Neil Basu, ex Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police. He describes how it felt to come face to face with the criminal underworld.Andy and Neil explore why the children being recruited by gangs are getting younger, and why kids as young as nine are willing to kill.

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28:52

Exclusive - The convicted terrorists living on our...

The Crime Agents ·

2025/06/28

In the very first episode of The Crime Agents, investigative journalist Andy Hughes reveals exclusively how hundreds of convicted terrorists have been released from UK jails over the past two decades, and are now living among us, many of whom continue to refuse deradicalisation treatment.His co-host on the Crime Agents is the former Head of Counter Terrorism for the Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu. In this episode Neil explains how law enforcement go about catching terrorists, how terror plots are

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02:40

Introducing: The Crime Agents

The Crime Agents ·

2025/06/17

Meet Neil Basu and Andy Hughes - aka The Crime Agents. Neil is a former top police officer and Andy is an investigative journalist who's been covering crime for two decades. In this podcast, from the makers of The News Agents, they'll go behind the headlines to uncover the truth about the crime that affects all of our lives. In this trailer, Neil and Andy give you an insight into the frontline experience they've had of catching criminals and going undercover with them. Starting next Wednesday, every

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40 results

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