Starmer Turns His Attention To Ukraine (Or Tries To)
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 17 March 2026
⏱️ 37 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Today, President Zelensky has been in London to agree a new defence partnership with the UK, with Downing Street hoping to unite “Ukrainian expertise and the UK's industrial base" to manufacture drones. But while Starmer and Zelensky were meeting one side of the Atlantic, President Trump was changing his mind on whether he needs Nato support in the Strait of Hormuz again.
During a meeting with the Irish Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, President Trump hit out at Starmer again.
Adam and Chris discuss Zelensky’s visit and President Trump’s change of heart.
Plus, economics editor Faisal Islam joins Adam, fresh from looking at quantum computers with Rachel Reeves, to discuss the Chancellor’s annual Mais Lecture which covered AI, closer ties with Europe, and possible plans to devolve tax revenue spending.
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New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi and Harry Craig. The social producers were Jem Westgate and Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was James Piper. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.5 | Hello, who better to welcome me back from holiday |
| 0:08.9 | than Chris Mason at Westminster. |
| 0:10.5 | Hello. |
| 0:10.8 | Hello, nice to have you back. |
| 0:13.1 | Is that it? |
| 0:15.2 | Should I be more gushing and... |
| 0:18.4 | I mean, we've been doing this for nearly a decade now, so... The thing is, the thing is, I would think that over the last couple of weeks, you've been sort of, what is it, one week on, one week off. So I lose track about your movement. Just using my annual leave allocation. Nothing out of the origin ring. But you're very, yes, this is the time of year, isn't it? Because our leave year runs from April to April. |
| 0:38.9 | This is reverety stuff where people tend to realize. |
| 0:42.2 | Next, our live stream of our Rotar meeting. |
| 0:44.8 | No, Chris, you know what? |
| 0:46.3 | You can welcome me back with a classic correction slash clarification. |
| 0:50.9 | We love a clarification. |
| 0:52.0 | That is the biggest euphemism in journalism. |
| 0:53.8 | No, this is a clarification. That is the biggest euphemism in journalism. No, this is a clarification. |
| 0:55.1 | Oh, right. |
| 0:55.4 | Okay. |
| 0:56.0 | So on yesterday's newscast, which I was listening to on the way into work on Tuesday morning, |
| 1:01.0 | you mentioned the phrase Westminster Wags. |
| 1:04.2 | Yes. |
| 1:04.6 | I know what that means, but some younger members of the newscast team said, |
| 1:08.9 | what does he mean when he says Westminster Wax? |
... |
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