The Crime Agents

A 14-year-old boy was recently charged with terrorism offences. Were Andy and Neil surprised? Less than you might think. They explain what's behind the trend in terror suspects getting younger and why it should worry us.

They also take on the new Hillsborough Law, which legally compels institutions to tell the truth in public inquiries. What does it say about policing and public bodies that the government felt this law was necessary? Neil has his say.

They also discuss why the World Cup saw so little hooliganism and why Trump's ICE agents kept such a...

Many people called it an act of war. The 2018 Salisbury Poisonings remains one of the most infamous criminal cases in British history - and Neil was the man who led the investigation.

In this episode, he reveals how police, the security services and MI6 worked together to identify the Russian agents who carried out the Novichok attack, and why he still lives in hope of bringing them to justice.

But should the local police and MI5 have known that former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was living an apparently normal life in Salisbury? Andy challenges...

The UK government has finally proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, but what does that actually mean in practice? Andy and Neil break down what labelling the IRGC a terror group gives police and security services the power to do, and whether it will make any real difference.

Neil also explains why Counter Terror Police may have taken over the Ann Widdecombe investigation, and reveals whether the Met's famous Flying Squad are still armed and operational.

Plus: should police tell the public more or less about ongoing investigations? Andy makes the case for how forces...

Counter-Terrorism Police have confirmed that the killing of Ann Widdecombe was a 'targeted attack'. So how does an investigation like this actually work? Why did it take days for CT Policing to take over from Devon & Cornwall? And why did the local force publicly rule out a political motive, only to reverse that position 24 hours later?

In this special episode, Andy and Neil break down what we know, examine how the investigation has been handled, and ask whether MPs and public figures need more protection than they're currently getting.

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The leader of the Rochdale grooming gang has been freed after just 14 years - and the government says it can't deport him. Andy and Neil dissect how Shabir Ahmed ended up back on British streets, discuss why the case has provoked such fury, and give their view on what should happen to him now.

They also ask whether justice has finally been served after two teenage boys who raped young girls in Hampshire were given custodial sentences on appeal. Plus, Andy explains why rapists are often given such short prison sentences, and Neil gives his view on...

On 22 May 2013, Fusilier Lee Rigby was murdered in broad daylight on a London street. His killers didn't flee, they waited, bloodied weapons in hand, and spoke to camera. It remains one of the most shocking terrorist attacks on British soil.

Neil was a Met police commander in southeast London that day. He reveals what happened inside the Met's leadership team in the minutes after the attack, why it took 15 minutes for armed officers to arrive, and what the footage of those officers' response tells us about the reality of policing.

Together, Andy and Neil examine...

Should a police commissioner publicly criticise the mayor who holds him to account? Sir Mark Rowley did exactly that after Sadiq Khan blocked the Met from working with Palantir, the AI company built on CIA technology. Neil explains the unwritten rules of police leadership, and why he understands the intervention, even if it breaks their relationship.

Andy also responds to a listener who asks: why didn't he go straight to MI5 when he uncovered intelligence connected to the Manchester Arena bombing? He explains where the line sits between investigative journalism and national security, and what he'd do...

Valdo Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He'd been arrested and sectioned for violent offences multiple times. He was known to carry knives. And yet on a June morning in 2023, he was free to roam the streets of Nottingham, where he killed three innocent people.

In this episode, Emma Webber - mother of 19-year-old victim Barnaby - tells Andy and Neil about her fight for answers. She reveals how the families discovered the deaths were preventable, the litany of failures by police and mental health services that left Calocane free to kill, and her fury that not...

Andy Burnham looks to be on the cusp of becoming the next Prime Minister. In this Q&A episode, Andy and Neil reveal how police work out which politicians need close protection, and whether Burnham will automatically be getting extra security now he's back in Parliament.

Plus, a knife attack in Edinburgh reportedly targeted Muslims and left five people injured, so why didn't it get more news coverage? Andy explains how newsrooms decide which stories lead the agenda, while Neil asks the uncomfortable question: would this have received more attention if the alleged attacker was Muslim and...

The Manchester Arena bombing was the deadliest terror attack in Britain in a decade. Salman Abedi killed 22 people - including children and teenagers - when he detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. But how was he able to do it? And how was his brother finally brought to justice years later?

Neil was a senior counter-terrorism figure at the time. He reveals how the security services responded, where the intelligence failures were, and the painstaking effort to prosecute Hashem Abedi for his role in the plot.

Andy had spent months in...

Hampshire Constabulary — the same force that arrested murder victim Henry Nowak as he lay dying — is now under investigation for dismissing a rape report made by one of its own officers. Andy reveals how that failure had devastating consequences, and he and Neil tackle the deeper question: why do so many police officers still refuse to believe rape survivors?

They also take on the government's plan to ban social media for under-16s. Many think it sounds good in theory, but can it actually be enforced? Andy and Neil give their verdict on whether this is meaningful poli...

Nearly 60,000 suspects skipped court in England and Wales last year. Thousands still haven't been found.

Investigative journalist Matt Shea has spent months tracking down some of Britain's most wanted fugitives – from safehouses in North London to red light districts in Thailand – for his Channel 4 Dispatches film Hunting Britain's Fugitives. He joins Andy and Neil to reveal how he found people the system hasn't caught up with, and why so many suspects now feel emboldened to simply not show up.

Plus they discuss what exactly has gone so wrong with British justice that attending court feels opti...

As Belfast burned on Tuesday night, Andy was there. In this special episode, he delivers a full eyewitness report from the riots: the violence, the racism, and the fury that erupted on the streets of Northern Ireland's capital.

Andy & Neil explain how a horrific knife attack by a Sudanese man on Monday night led to calls for protest within hours, and how those calls spiralled into widespread disorder. They discuss why immigration has become such a flashpoint in Northern Ireland, whether the Common Travel Area represents a genuine security gap, and what can be done to stop...

The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest football tournament in history, but it could also be the most dangerous.

Andy reveals the shockingly small number of British police officers travelling to the US for the tournament, and explains why that makes hooliganism and crowd trouble at England and Scotland matches far more likely. What happens when rowdy English football fans meet armed, heavy-handed American cops?

Later, Neil breaks down the terror threat: why ISIS and other groups may see the World Cup as a target, and what he learned preparing London for the 2012 Olympics as...

Nigel Farage has spent all week trying to weaponise the murder of Henry Nowak for his own political gain. In this episode, Andy & Neil react to the shocking policing which saw Henry wrongly arrested as he lay dying, explain how the officers should have responded in that situation, and debunk Farage's claims that 'two-tier' policing is now prevalent in the UK.

Neil gives a passionate & personal explanation of why those claims that ethnic minorities are now treated better by police than white people are so wide of the mark, and they discuss whether more unrest is likely...

Should parents ever be held criminally responsible for the actions of their children? In the wake of the inquiry into the Southport murders, the government is considering whether parents who fail to act on serious warning signs should, in some cases, face prosecution. Andy and Neil debate whether that would be a fair and effective change in the law, or a step too far.

They also revisit one of Britain’s most notorious police investigations: the undercover “honeytrap” operation used against Colin Stagg after the murder of Rachel Nickell. Would controversial tactics like that still be used today...

Over 100 survivors of John Worboys' abuse have now come forward to police; but after the recent TV drama 'Believe Me', that number is still growing, decades after Worboys first attacked the women who were unlucky enough to get in his black cab. In this episode, Andy & Neil hear from survivor Becki Houlston, who tells her story, and that of another victim, which leaves Andy & Neil questioning why Worboys was never charged with attempted murder as well as rapes and sexual assaults.

Becki explains why she and so many other survivors were initially reluctant to go to the...

The police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is back in the headlines. In this special episode, Andy & Neil react to the latest developments and break down why it's so significant that detectives are now considering looking at allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Prince as part of their ongoing inquiries.

They also explain how this investigation has already become one of the biggest in British history, why political interference is making the police's job so much harder, and why Trump's US Justice Department is yet to hand over key, unredacted documents from the Epstein Files. Plus, Neil...

James Bulger was just 2 years old when he was abducted, tortured and murdered by 10 year olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables in Liverpool in 1993. The story made headlines around the world, and in this episode, Andy & Neil hear from LBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty, who followed the case closely and knows James Bulger's family well.

Shelagh recalls what it was like to sit in the courtroom as the 10 year olds became Britain's youngest-ever convicted murderers, and becomes emotional when describing the impact that covering this shocking case continues to have on her to this day. She also tries...

'Stopping the Boats': a task which has now proved beyond multiple governments, with over 200,000 people crossing the Channel to reach the UK in the past eight years. But who are the people smugglers running this illegal trade? How do police attempt to catch the gangs who put people's lives at risk almost every day? Neil explains why law enforcement agencies from the UK and other countries have found it so difficult to tackle this problem, and Andy reveals why journalists sometimes seem to have more success in tracking down these people smugglers than the police.

Later, they...

Just like Jimmy Savile, for years Mohamed Al Fayed used his power and wealth to commit hundreds of sexual crimes and get away with it. In this episode, Andy & Neil hear from Cheska Hill-Wood, a former Harrods employee and survivor of his abuse, about exactly how Al Fayed groomed victims and leaned on a network of corrupt police officers to ensure he was protected from prosecution and scrutiny while he was still alive.

They ask the uncomfortable questions: was Al Fayed treated differently just because he was a billionaire businessman? Why were the police and Harrods happy...

Four Palestine Action activists have just been convicted of serious criminal offences, including criminal damage and GBH. Will this start to change public perceptions of the proscribed group? Will ordinary people look on them differently in light of this news? Andy & Neil break down what impact these convictions could have and discuss whether the government should have waited until now to ban Palestine Action.

They also explain how long the potential sentences Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson could face, if they were to be found guilty of Misconduct in Public Office. For now, both men deny any...

A series of arson attacks on synagogues and Jewish ambulances in the space of just a few weeks. Two terrorist attacks barely seven months apart: one in Manchester and then, last week, another in Golders Green, North London. In this episode, Andy & Neil look at why there have been so many antisemitic attacks and incidents in Britain in the last few months, and how police, security services and society as a whole can work together to tackle what has become a national crisis.

Andy & Neil also both respond furiously to Green Party leader Zack Polanski's criticism of...

As the number of antisemitic attacks on British Jews continues to rise, in this Q&A episode Neil explains some of the reasons why this type of hatred has become so commonplace on our streets, and how it has changed since his days as a police officer in London. He and Andy discuss whether more policing is part of the solution to the problem, and what role education plays in tackling antisemitism. Please note, this episode was recorded before the Golders Green terror attack on 29th April.

They also give their view on whether Russell Brand...

Britain was changed forever by the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in South East London in April 1993. What followed was a story of police incompetence, institutional racism and, eventually, a cold case that was cracked and which led to murder convictions for two of the original five suspects. In this episode, Andy & Neil explain how cold cases work, and Neil reveals the personal role he played in helping to convict David Norris and Gary Dobson of Stephen Lawrence's murder.

They also explain how developments in forensics and the abolition of the 'double jeopardy' law played a vital...

In this week's Q&A episode, Andy & Neil discuss some of the recent attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London. They explain who and what determines whether or not these incidents are declared as terror attacks, and Neil opens up on what it was like to be the person who formally announced a string of deadly terror attacks in the UK back in 2017.

Plus, was Louis Theroux's recent documentary on the manosphere wrong not to focus more on its impact on women? Andy gives a very personal response to this question, while Neil also explains...

In an exclusive interview with Andy & Neil, Scott Hamer - a former Senior Royal Protection Officer - reveals what it's like to protect the highest profile people in the country. Scott worked with the former Prince Andrew at times, as well as many other Royals and top politicians - he responds to the claims that some of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's protection team may have become too close to the former Royal.

Scott also speaks candidly about what the former Duke of York was like as a principal and gives his view on whether fellow officers might ever have...

'Paedophile Hunters': vigilantes who attempt to lure and confront suspected sex offenders, before calling the police in an attempt to entrap them and have them arrested. But are these self-appointed groups a help or hindrance to the authorities? Do their stunts lead to more sex offenders being convicted? Or do they just waste police time? Andy & Neil explain how this phenomenon has grown over the last few years, and whether 'Paedophile Hunters' are a problem for police, or part of a solution.

Later, Neil explains whether members of the public would be wise to attempt a citizens...

This week, Andy & Neil react to the scathing report into the Southport murders, the brutal knife attack by a 17 year old at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the summer of 2024 which killed three young girls and left many more severely injured and traumatised.

They debate whether the ongoing public inquiry will lead to any lessons really being learned, or if these are just hollow words. Andy & Neil also clash over whether more individuals from the police, social services and mental health services should be held personally accountable for the mistakes which led up to these horrific...

In this week’s Q&A episode, Andy & Neil tackle the issue of drugs in prisons. How do so many drugs get in, are corrupt guards to blame, and would using sniffer dogs inside jails make a difference?

They also debate whether it’s time for football clubs to contribute more towards the cost of policing matches - it currently costs the police over £70m every year in England alone.

Plus they discuss how to spot an illegal children’s care home, and whether there’s a solution to the police recruitment crisis.

Have a qu...

What's it really like to be a bomb disposal expert? In this episode, Andy & Neil explain how the police use these experts to defuse bombs and to save lives - and reveal why their services are called on more often than you might think.

They're joined for an exclusive interview by Matt Middleditch - the head of Counter Terrorism Policing's 'bomb squad' - who shares his stories from decades on the frontline in the police and the military.

Later, Neil reacts to Andy's recent investigation exposing illegal children's care homes and explains how the authorities...

In this special investigation, Andy exposes the scandal of the hundreds of illegal children's care homes which are operating all over the UK. In a joint investigation with Tom Wall and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Andy tells the horrifying story of a vulnerable 15 year-old girl who was groomed & raped by two 'carers' at one such home, who were given jobs working with children in spite of having a history of violent convictions.

Tom Wall identified MAP Adventures and tracked McGrory down to Cyprus. Andy confronts the man who owned the care home in question, and explains...

Figures show that over 100 police officers are assaulted every day in the UK - so is it time for them all to carry a Taser in self-defence? Can all officers be trusted to carry these 'less lethal' weapons? Neil draws on his experience as former national lead for Tasers as he and Andy discuss whether it is now time for more British police to be armed.

They also discuss whether the rise of the manosphere strengthens the case for banning social media for under 16s, and they explain why Martyn's Law - which requires all major venues...

Levi Bellfield was the first British prisoner to be sentenced to not one, but two whole life orders. He murdered three women, including the schoolgirl Milly Dowler, and was also convicted of multiple rapes and another attempted murder. In this episode, Andy & Neil speak to Neil Lancaster, one of the detectives who was a key part of the surveillance team which led to Bellfield's arrest, and hear what it was like to tail this monster for days on end.

Neil Lancaster explains how he felt watching such an evil character up close - and how the killer...

In this week's Q&A episode, Neil reveals why he was once the subject of a death threat - and how one of his colleagues used some old-school tactics to deal with it. Meanwhile, Andy explains why the bomb squad were once called out to his house, and why he had to travel to work in a motorcade after receiving a death threat.

Neil also goes into detail about the lasting impact the Soham Murders had on policing and safeguarding in Britain, and whether someone like Ian Huntley would ever get a job as a school caretaker...

This week, Andy & Neil take a deep-dive into the manosphere: a world of toxic misogyny and con artists. But where exactly is the line between influence and incitement? When does ideology cross a line into criminality? What more, if anything, can police do to stop these influencers from poisoning young minds?

Neil explains how he saw this problem grow exponentially during his time as head of counter-terrorism policing, and Andy reveals how some of the most shocking stories he's ever covered have links to the so-called manosphere.

Later, they're joined by Victoria Baines, an expert...

After his rant last week about 'police auditors', in this week's Q&A Andy is challenged over his view and asked whether the George Floyd case in fact proves that officers should be filmed by the public while they're doing their job. He and Neil discuss this - and Andy has an update on police policy towards these 'auditors' from a source at the Met.

Neil also explains exactly why the Iran War is likely to increase the threat of a terror attack happening on British soil, and he explains how youth workers can play a significant...

Ian Huntley, the notorious double child murderer, died last weekend after being attacked in prison. It wasn't the first time he had been attacked while he served his life sentence - and in this episode, Andy & Neil look at the growing problem of violence inside British prisons. They discuss how inmates fashion weapons for these attacks, why guards fail to prevent them, and how the hierarchy inside jails really works.

They're joined by Vanessa Frake, a former prison Governor, who tells some alarming stories of overcrowding, drug use, and violence from her decades of firsthand experience. She...

In this week's Q&A episode, Andy & Neil debate whether or not it's time to increase the age of criminal responsibility. It's currently 10 in England, Wales & Northern Ireland, but it's 12 in Scotland, and the UN recommends 14. Who's got it right? Andy cites the recent case where two 12 year-olds were convicted of murder in Wolverhampton and asks: would justice really have been served if they had been allowed to walk free?

Andy & Neil also discuss some of the dangerous situations they've found themselves in during their careers, from receiving death threats from gang leaders to needing police protection...

In this week's episode, Andy & Neil look at what impact the expanding war in the Middle East is having here in the UK. The Iranian regime has a long history of plotting terrorist acts and using proxies to hit targets on British soil - so will Keir Starmer's decision to allow the US to use British military bases to carry out strikes on Iran make us a target for retaliation?

Neil explains how the IRGC - the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - has used sleeper cells and highly trained agents to cause chaos across the West over...