Nigel Farage says Essex Police warned him to stay away from the Clacton by-election count. Essex Police say that never happened. So who's lying? And why are politicians increasingly dragging the police into their political battles? In this week's Q&A, Andy and Neil tackle Farage's claim head-on and ask what it means for public trust when policing becomes a prop in politicians' narratives.

They also discuss the Mushroom Murderer's appeal. Erin Patterson was convicted of poisoning her former in-laws with a death cap mushroom lunch, and from the moment she appeared on camera claiming to be "devastated," most people felt she was guilty. But how often do detectives get an instinctive feeling that someone did it? And can that gut instinct help or hinder an investigation?

Plus: has CCTV revolutionised crime-solving in the same way DNA once did? And do the benefits of Ring doorbells on every street outweigh 'Big Brother' concerns? Andy and Neil also dig into the unsolved death of Zac Brettler, the case at the heart of Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling, and whether the Met's investigation was as flawed as the reporting suggests.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Three British politicians have been killed in the space of a decade. Jo Cox. David Amess. And now Ann Widdecombe. How has political violence in Britain reached this point? And why are most of our MPs still unprotected?

In this episode, Andy and Neil trace the escalating pattern of attacks on politicians in the UK, explain how police and the Home Office decide who gets protection, and reveal why the number receiving it remains surprisingly low. They explore the growing reliance on private security firms to fill the gaps, and the strain a record nine living former Prime Ministers is placing on already stretched resources.

They're also joined by Philip Grindell, a former Met Detective turned private security expert who helped establish The Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team after Jo Cox's murder. Philip explains how the threat environment has changed, how he now protects high-profile individuals from targeted violence, and why he believes some MPs embellish the level of threats they receive when speaking publicly.

Finally, Andy and Neil confront the difficult question: can we realistically protect more of our politicians, and what would it cost our democracy if we tried?

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Daniel Kinahan - allegedly one of the world's most powerful gangsters - arrived at a Dublin court this week under near-unprecedented security. Was that level of protection justified, or was it theatre from the Irish state? And how was he finally extradited from Dubai, where he spent a decade hiding in plain sight? Andy and Neil explain why the Kinahan story has moved so fast, and ask whether his upcoming trial could become the biggest Ireland has ever seen.

They also dissect the police failings that allowed Simon Levy, a known sexual predator, to kill two women and attack several others. Does this prove, once and for all, that the police are institutionally misogynistic? Andy and Neil break down what went wrong, and how much damage this case does to the police's efforts to rebuild trust with women and girls.

Plus, the latest on PC Andrew Harper's killers, how police operations are named, and, last but not least: who has dubbed Neil 'Manly' Tucci?!

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Imagine a phone network built exclusively for criminals. Encrypted. Untraceable. Designed to destroy evidence at the touch of a button. For years, EncroChat gave drug cartels, hitmen and money launderers the confidence to plan serious crime openly, believing they were untouchable.

They were wrong.

Andy & Neil tell the full story: why EncroChat was created, how it became organised crime's communication platform of choice, and how police ultimately infiltrated it in one of the biggest cross-border operations in law enforcement history. With Tony Saggers - former Head of Drugs Threat & Intelligence at the NCA - they explain what happened when police gained access to the messages of tens of thousands of criminals, leading to lengthy sentences for crime bosses and hundreds of millions in illicit funds seized.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Two of PC Andrew Harper's killers will soon be eligible for early release. They were convicted of manslaughter after dragging a police officer to his death - and under the government's early release scheme, they could soon walk free at the halfway point of their sentences. Andy and Neil ask what this means for justice, for public trust, and for every officer putting themselves in danger on duty.

Plus: after funeral director Robert Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes, they discuss how he got away with it, and whether this is the tip of the iceberg in an industry built on trust.

And why does it so often take undercover journalists to expose police misconduct, rather than the officers working alongside it? After the Charing Cross scandal, Andy and Neil dig into why the culture of silence endures and what it would actually take to break it.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

When a specialist firearms officer fired the shot that killed Mark Duggan in August 2011, no one could have predicted what would follow. Within days, a community protest in Tottenham had erupted into disorder across London - and then into the worst rioting Britain had seen in a generation.

Was Duggan lawfully killed, or the victim of police brutality? How did the police lose control of the streets? And was it always inevitable that this shooting would escalate into something far bigger?

Andy unpacks the long history of tension between police and Duggan's North London community, while Neil takes us inside the Met at the moment London descended into chaos. 15 years on, are we still living with the consequences?

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Killers and sex offenders were being lined up for early release later this year - until new PM Andy Burnham paused the scheme. Was that the right call? Can letting people convicted of serious offences out after half their sentence ever be justified? Andy & Neil debate the government's options as it scrambles for a short-term fix to Britain's never-ending prisons crisis.

They also ask what police can realistically do about the depressing spike in domestic abuse that accompanies every major football tournament, and Neil explains how Russian spies tracked down Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, even though neither police nor MI5 knew where he was living.

Plus: can having a criminal parent stop you joining the police? And Andy shares tips for young reporters trying to build trusted law enforcement sources.

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

You've seen the Hollywood movies - but what is hostage negotiation really like?

John Sutherland spent decades as one of the Met Police's most accomplished crisis negotiators. In this episode, he gives Andy and Neil the inside track: how it feels to have a life in your hands, what you actually say in those moments, and how he coped when things didn't go to plan.

From talking down hostage-takers armed with suicide vests and flamethrowers, to helping ordinary people through the worst day of their lives, John reveals the reality behind the role most of us only know from the big screen.

Later, he also explains how the job almost broke him, and how he rebuilt his life as a Sunday Times best-selling author and novelist.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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 low profile during the tournament.

Plus, they reveal how long police keep your fingerprints on record, and they look at whether the Met is right to force experienced, specialist officers back onto the beat; is this another move that will damage morale in the ranks?

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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 Neil on whether the failure to flag his presence was a justifiable decision or a dangerous blind spot.

Plus, they explain what you'll learn from the new CNN documentary The Salisbury Poisonings: The Spy Next Door, in which Neil plays a prominent role.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

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 can rebuild public trust through better communication.

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.