Hello, hello, this is Hugo Rifkin, and now we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day

and the stuff that's even more important than politics too. And joining me, as ever, are two of the

finest minds from The Times and the Sunday Times. And today they are James

Marriott. Hello, James. Hello. How are you? Yeah, slightly sleepy, but I'm going to attempt to be as

alert as possible for the duration of the next hour. Right. Okay, good. That's good to start. Not to

learn. That may be not to start a depressing note or a sort of an optimistic note. And Libby Purvis, are you wide awake, Libby? A wide awake, yes. Good to have you. Yeah, it's good, you're not sleepy.

I'm not quite sure why James has not had his coffee.

Did you just get up and stumble into the studio, James?

I need another coffee.

Right, okay.

Sometimes when it's a column day, I kind of lie awake thinking,

oh my God, what have I written in the newspaper?

Yeah. Have I completely embarrassed myself? Only sometimes. Yeah. Well. I'm not saying you're not with you or only sometimes. I mean, I get that every day.

Yeah. So, yeah, Tuesday is a little sleepy for me.

Right. Okay. Well, look, let's crack on with... No, wait, before we crack on with some news,

I think you might make the perfect spy, James.

Me? Yes, the perfect spy.

I've never thought myself as James Bondi. You don't look like a policeman. How tall are you?

Five foot eight? You're bang on. You're the absolute limit for a spy. You're not allowed to be any taller. I thought this is going to be a flattering thing where you said they look like James Bond,

but you're saying that I'm short and don't look like a policeman. Libby, don't you think James would make an excellent spy? No. No, no, no. He's got too many views. He's got too many views. You need blank,

blank keen loyalty, really. Libby, you strike me as someone who knows more about spies and

they're letting on, Libby. I'm not going to push this too hard. I read Le Carrey constantly.

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