News,·14 Jun 2026,·33 mins

Available for over a year

Royal Marine Commandos have boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning. Marines, joined by National Crime Agency officers, with the support of the RAF, intercepted and boarded the vessel in a six-hour operation - the first operation of its kind by UK armed forces. The vessel, Smyrtos, will be held and monitored off the south coast of England as investigations continue, the MoD said. Joe Pike joins Laura and Paddy to go through what we know about the operation, and put it into context in light of a week of resignations over the government's defence investment plan. A full list of candidates and loads more information about the Makerfield by-election is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrp1z8n4w2o You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes are 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 presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Gareth Jones. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.