The Crime Agents

In light of Andy's recent investigation - which alleged that a former Met police officer was part of a VIP grooming gang - in this Q&A episode, he and Neil explain the signs to look out for if you suspect children are being groomed or exploited, and what to do if your suspicions turn out to be right.

After December's horrific anti-semitic terror attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Neil also addresses how people become radicalised, and why it's vital for counter-terror police to have a proper understanding of the history of Islam to do their...

The UK is the drugs capital of Europe, and more cocaine arrives here from Venezuela than from any other country. This week, in light of Donald Trump's operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Andy & Neil look at the impact this could have on Britain's drugs trade.

Was Maduro really a narco-terrorist, like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo? They're joined by Tony Saggers, former head of intelligence at the NCA and an expert in global drug smuggling, to find out more about the role Venezuela plays in sending narcotics to the UK. Tony explains how likely i...

In this Christmas special, Andy and Neil ask each other the questions they've always wanted to know the answers to. Andy explains how the unlikely combination of cricket and being sacked by his Dad let to him becoming a crime journalist - while Neil reveals the full details of how he ended up as a chocolate salesman on his way to joining the police.

They also recall some of the funniest and most bizarre cases they've covered or been called out to during their careers, talk favourite cop movies and characters, and discuss their most memorable crime...

This week, Andy and Neil unpick last weekend's events at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where 15 people were murdered in an ISIS-inspired, anti-Semitic terror attack. Andy recounts the details of exactly what happened - while Neil explains how Australian Police and security services will be investigating. Plus they both pay tribute to the incredible heroism of Ahmed al-Ahmed and others who put their lives at risk to try and stop the attack.

Andy & Neil also tackle some of the questions to have emerged in the past few days, such as: did one of the terrorists slip through the...

In this follow-up to Andy's exclusive report (listen to Part 1 here), which revealed that a former Met Police officer has been accused of being part of a grooming gang by multiple survivors of sexual abuse, Andy and Neil take a deep dive into grooming gangs, and why children in care are so often the victims of this abuse.

Andy hears from someone who works in the care sector, who claims criminals are running some children's care homes, and also speaks to a victim of child sexual abuse to hear how these paedophiles exploit their victims - while...

In this special episode, Andy exclusively reveals bombshell allegations of child abuse against a former Met Police officer, who has been accused of being part of a grooming gang by two different survivors.

He tells a shocking story of children in care being abused by a VIP paedophile ring that allegedly involved an MP and a judge, as well as this former police officer. Andy explains why some of the allegations were recorded properly at the time - and why some weren't. And he and Neil discuss whether this issue may have been covered up by the...

In The Crime Agents' latest Q&A episode, Andy and Neil discuss the way police and the CPS treated Caroline Flack, the TV presenter who took her own life in 2020. Did officers seek to make an example of her because she was a celebrity? Or did prosecutors have a duty to pursue the domestic assault case against her? Tune in to hear their verdict on how this tragic episode could have been handled differently.

Andy and Neil also discuss the NCA: the National Crime Agency, sometimes described as Britain's answer to the FBI. Is it right that...

The Justice Secretary has announced one of the biggest changes in hundreds of years to the way the British justice system works. Jury trials for crimes carrying sentences of three years or less will be scrapped - but will this really solve the deep-rooted problems at the heart of a creaking system?

In this episode, Andy and Neil explain how the backlog in our criminal courts has reached a record high - and debate whether getting rid of juries will really speed things up, or if it might end up leading to more miscarriages of justice. They...

Christmas: for most of us, it's a time of joy and celebration. But for a new group of organised criminals, Christmas means opportunity. Retail crime and shoplifting have hit record levels in the last few years - and the festive season, including Black Friday, is when this issue is at its worst.

So when did shoplifting go from petty crime to serious business? When did retail criminals turn from hard-up addicts and opportunists, to gangs with getaway cars and balaclavas?

In this episode, Andy and Neil explore why shop theft has become so rife, and...

What proportion of 999 calls in the UK are genuine emergencies? The answer will shock you.

In this episode, Andy and Neil play you some of the most bizarre and ridiculous 999 calls which have been made in the last year - and explain why these hoaxes and time-wasters could ultimately be a matter of life and death.

They also take you behind the scenes of an emergency response room to explain what happens when a genuine emergency is called in: who answers the phone? How quickly are officers deployed? And who decides whether firearms backup is...

Why do less than 3% of all reported rapes in the UK lead to a conviction? Andy and Neil describe that statistic as "shameful" and "a scandal" - and attempt to explain why a combination of rape myths and problems in our creaking justice system make it so hard to prove someone's guilt.

Plus Andy reveals why one senior detective he's spoken to believes it's time to get rid of jury trials in rape cases - and why using lie detectors could be part of the way forward.

Plus Andy and Neil are joined by Jade...

Men are responsible for nearly 80% of all crime carried out in the UK and make up over 90% of Britain's prison population. In this Q&A episode, Andy and Neil are asked: why is this the case? Is testosterone to blame? Is it down to a lack of critical thinking skills in young men? Or is it an inevitable consequence of a patriarchal society?

Andy and Neil also explain whether Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is now more vulnerable to police investigations over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein - both in the UK and the US - now he is...

One day in September 1985, a dawn raid in South London went badly wrong. Police were looking for a man called Michael Groce - but they raided the wrong address, and ended up shooting his mother, Cherry Groce, who was left paralysed for the rest of her life. The incident led to an uprising in Brixton, and the anger soon spread to Tottenham, and even Toxteth in Liverpool.

In this episode, Andy and Neil explain the background to the shooting of Cherry Groce and the riots which spread across the country in the autumn of 1985. They also speak...

As a train guard fights for his life and several other passengers recover in hospital, Andy and Neil bring you the latest on the story which continues to dominate the news: the mass stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire on Saturday night.

They explain that the man charged with carrying out those attacks has also been charged with an attempted murder on a train in London the night before - and discuss whether more could have been done to prevent this tragedy from happening.

Neil also breaks down why this incident does not classify as...

Have you ever wondered how it feels to carry a firearm on the streets of London? Or what it's like to be among the first responders after a terror attack? And why do a small number of police officers in the UK choose to carry a gun, for no extra money, with all the added scrutiny and pressure that comes with the job?

In this episode, Andy and Neil sit down for an exclusive interview with Will, a former sergeant in the Met's Firearms Unit, who gives them a rare insight into armed policing in the UK...

In this week's Q&A episode, Andy and Neil debate the effectiveness of the IOPC: the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Last year, the watchdog controversially pushed for NX121 - the firearms officer who shot Chris Kaba in 2022 - to be charged with murder, only for a jury to return a "not guilty" verdict in near record time. So how does the IOPC work? And is it fit for purpose? Andy and Neil give their forthright views on the future of the organisation, and discuss the best way for police officers to be held to account for their actions.<...

Last weekend, a gang of thieves made off with hundreds of millions of Euros' worth of jewellery from the Louvre in Paris - including some of France's Crown Jewels. But how did they plan a job like this? How could the world's most famous museum be such an easy target? And how will the police be trying to track the perpetrators down?

In this episode, Andy and Neil examine what we know so far about the biggest heist of the last few years - and explain how some of the thieves' mistakes could end up proving costly...

In this Q&A episode, Andy and Neil debate what happened to TV presenter Jill Dando, who was murdered on her doorstep in 1999. Was she taken out by a professional hitman? Or was the Crimewatch presenter the victim of a random attack by a local criminal? Tune in to hear what Andy and Neil make of one of the nation's most notorious unsolved cases.

Later, Andy reveals whether his investigative journalism has ever put his personal safety at risk, and the pair discuss their past experiences with 'unscrupulous' journalists who would use illegal methods to obtain their...

When three year-old Madeleine McCann went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007, it was a story which had the nation gripped for all the wrong reasons. 18 years on, the case remains unsolved - but the story still has the power to create headlines and dominate the news agenda.

In this episode, Andy and Neil look at the key mistakes that were made early in the investigation by the local police - and whether there is a realistic chance of this case ever being solved.

Neil also reveals how high profile murder and missing persons...

Once upon a time, the police and journalists were friends and allies. But as the phone hacking scandal unfolded, and it became clear that many journalists had broken the law in their pursuit of stories, the close relationship between police and press was shattered. Scotland Yard was forced to investigate and prosecute many members of the media with whom they'd been friendly - and officers were later banned from speaking to journalists at all.

Andy explains exactly how the scandal came about, Neil talks about what it was like to run the Operation which investigated rogue reporters...

Today, Andy from The Crime Agents joined forces with fellow Global podcast The Crisis Room for a special episode to react to yesterday's terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.

If you'd like to hear more from The Crisis Room, find episodes weekly on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.

What happens in the immediate aftermath of such an incident? Amber Rudd calls on her experience of responding to five terror attacks as Home Secretary in 2017 to explain what happens at COBRA, and what the security services do next to try and prevent...

In this emergency episode, Andy and Neil react to the shocking revelations in last night's Panorama, which exposed widespread racism, misogyny, and gratuitous use of violence within Charing Cross police station.

Two years after the Metropolitan Police was branded institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic, this plunges the country's biggest police force into yet another major crisis.

Neil and Andy give their raw, personal responses to the undercover report and where it leaves the Met. They also discuss whether Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley can keep his job - as the Chief still continues to deny that...

It's the debate which won't go away: is stop and search a vital tool for making our streets safer? Or is it a blunt, overused tactic which unfairly targets ethnic minorities? In this episode, Andy and Neil unpack exactly how stop and search is meant to work, why it's so valued by police officers - and why it’s such a cause of tension between police and the black community in particular.

They're also joined by campaigner and activist Sayce Holmes-Lewis, who's been stopped by the police dozens of times and now works with the Met to im...

The UK is the biggest consumer of illegal drugs in Europe. From the British Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, to Albanian gangs taking over in the last decade, and a crack cocaine epidemic in between, Andy and Neil tell the story of how this shocking fact came to be a reality.

They're also joined by Tony Saggers - the man who, until recently, was the head of Drugs Threat at the National Crime Agency. Tony reveals the key role that pineapples and bananas play in drug smuggling, how the industry has changed since Brexit, and gives his...

In this week's Q&A episode, Andy and Neil answer your questions on why the conviction rate for rape and other violence against women and girls is so low - and give their verdict on whether social media and the 'manosphere' is making it more dangerous than ever to be a woman. Neil also explains why he thinks the way rape is investigated in this country needs to be fundamentally changed.

They also answer questions on whether police rewards are ever actually paid out, if it's fair to say that the media is quicker to highlight violence...

Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march was supposed to be in the name of free speech.

Around 150,000 people attended the protest in central London this weekend. The far right activist said he wanted it to be a family event with no violence or alcohol.

Andy and the Crime Agents team went down to find out for themselves. This special report features the voices of the protestors on the march, and the moment violence broke out.

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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 right-wing threat is growing compared to when he was running counter-terrorism...

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 whether the methods used in TV...

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 'two-tier' policing and why these events are so hard to keep under control. Neil...

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 Britain's Caribbean community. They also discuss the idea of moving the festival...

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 terror plots? Is it time to consider decriminalising drug use...

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 forced their way into Wembley back in 2021.

Plus Andy reveals why the...

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 how his ethnicity counted against him at every stage of his...

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...

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 Starmer should be making fixing...

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 protest. Andy's also joined by Joe Mulhall from campaign group Hope Not...

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 take your questions...

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 - and reminds Neil of the vital role the...

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 tactic which damages community relations beyond repair? And what exactly does 'county lines...

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 gangs.

Plus Neil explains the...

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 story that shocked the nation.

Neil and Andy...

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 wholesale police reform. The pair also reveal the mental health impact for officers...

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 Corbyn.

Andy and co-host Neil Basu, ex-head of UK Counter Terror Policing, de...

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.

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 thwarted, and why there are now so many convicted terrorists no longer in jail.

In the first bonus episode of The Crime Agents, Andy takes us inside the high-stakes hunt for convicted terrorist Abdalraouf Abdallah, and reveals what happened behind the scenes when they came face to face in Manchester.

Neil questions Andy's sanity for confronting a known extremist - and reveals some of the surveillance tactics police use to keep tabs on terror suspects.

Plus - the pair are joined for an exclusive interview by Richard Smith, the UK's Senior National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism Policing, who reacts to Andy's story that hundreds of convicted extremists are back on...

As the twenty year anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London approaches, Andy Hughes reveals the shocking number of convicted terrorists who have been released from prison in the last two decades. Incredibly, hundreds of these criminals refused to take part in deradicalisation schemes while serving their sentences - and were considered unsafe for release by the authorities.

Neil Basu explains whether the UK's terror sentencing system is fit for purpose, and in a major Crime Agents exclusive, Andy tracks down and confronts a notorious terrorist outside his local mosque in Manchester. You won't want to miss what...

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 week The Crime Agents will dive deep into...