Keir Starmer’s challenges are not just limited to Kemi Badenoch grilling him at PMQs. As the Iran conflict continues, Trump is back to banging the “he’s no Churchill” drum. But what is it actually like to manage the ‘special relationship?’

In this clip from the latest episode of In The Room, Helen and Cleo report back after combing through the first Mandelson file drop, page by page – and find it coming up rather short.

After five long weeks of waiting, the first collection of Mandelson files has been released. 147 pages, riddled with spelling errors, and made up of 10 pages of contents and introduction, 30 pages of standard HR guidance, and 28 entirely blank pages. Not quite the bombshell people were perhaps expecting.

As the US-Iran war rumbles on, Keir Starmer will be spending his days dashing in and out of lots of important meetings, including Cobra (which actually stands for ‘cabinet office briefing rooms’ – the origins of the ‘A’ remains a bit of a mystery).

“Someone will literally be in charge of the planning brief, and suddenly, their latent interest in the Risk board game will come out, and they’ll start loitering around the PM’s office…”

The group of minors were scolded by sheriff’s deputies while waiting for their parents to come pick them up

A roof segment fell and triggered a ‘progressive collapse of connected sections across all seven levels’

In this clip from The Independent’s In The Room podcast, hosts Helen and Cleo reflect on their memories of how ominous No 10 can feel when the government is in crisis.

“The prime minister recently said, ‘I feel like I pull these levers and nothing happens,’ and you think: wrench the lever off and whack someone over the head with it, Keir!”

‘In The Room’, a podcast from Cleo Watson, former deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson, and Helen MacNamara, deputy cabinet secretary, launches this Friday exclusively from The Independent. Here they explain why it’s a must-listen for those who want to cut through the noise in SW1