Have I Got News For You

Martin Clunes hosts, with staff writer at the Atlantic, Helen Lewis, making her 11th appearance on the programme. Ian Smith completes the panel, making his debut on the show.

Martin Clunes takes the reins for the 21st time. Ian Hislop and Paul Merton are joined by journalist Helen Lewis, making her 11th appearance, and comedian Ian Smith, making his debut appearance on the programme.

The week has seen President Trump remain ever-present on the news agenda, as the bin strikes in Birmingham have started to prove a concern for public health, King Charles and Camilla visited Rome and the Vatican, and it was announced that Bedford is set to get a brand-new theme park!

Another busy week in global politics has seen Donald Trump u-turning on his trade tariff announcement from last week, as the US President announced a 90-day pause for those countries hit by his policy. The panel began to talk about the tariff policy, leading Ian Hislop to highlight a major flaw.

"The trouble is, anything could have happened by the time we go out, or indeed by the time I finish this sentence." Hislop quipped. "His reactions change so rapidly and all his supporters have to justify which is the good bit... because they say 'Trump's going to stand firm, he's not going to change, he's got a spine, he's not going to buckle.... oh he's gone... and then they say it was his plan all along!'"

"They had this thing a couple of weeks ago when the new phrase was 'Trust In Trump', until somebody pointed out what the initials stand for..." Merton joked.

"Whenever I hear it now I think he's President Truss, because he's done the same thing," added Hislop. "Honestly to boast about other countries coming and crawling to you and kissing a***, I mean yes he is an a*** but..."

"It's really frustrating for us as well because we kissed his a*** before anyone else did. That was all we had to brag... that we were on 10%, now everyone's on 10%! He could have at least put us on like 9.5%..." comedian Ian Smith joked.

"Yeah the bloody penguins are on 10% and they didn't even offer up their king!" Helen Lewis added.

As the panel discuss, Merton concludes, "I think that he's taking credit for reversing one of the most catastrophic decisions in the history of the American presidency."

"Yeah, it's like the fireman who comes in and says: 'OK I set the fire to the place... but look I'm putting it out now,'" Hislop agrees.

"So this is Donald Trump's pause in tariffs for everyone but China," Clunes concluded. "Trump's tariffs policy has been strongly defended by the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt... apparently the only other candidate for the job was Ron Take-it and Bob Leg-it."

Later in the episode, the panel turned their attention to domestic news, looking at the recent Birmingham bin strikes, now being labelled as a major incident and an increasing threat to public health as the strikes enter their fifth week.

"It's covered in 23,000 tonnes of festering rubbish... but, on the plus side, Only Fools And Horses: The Musical is on at the Birmingham Hippodrome," Clunes joked, ever the optimist.

"Someone suggested they should bring in the army," Smith added. "It does sound like the beginning of one of those adverts where they say 'if you can collect a bin, you can drive a tank!'" Smith joked.

"According to The Sun the streets were being invaded by 'rats the size of cats', The I Newspaper said locals had reported seeing 'rats the size of cats', and you guessed it... the Daily Mail said the city was being overrun by... 'rats the size of baby monkeys'," Clunes laughed.

"They just need to send in cats the size of dogs!" Smith added.

"So this is the news that the streets of Birmingham are piled high with rat infested bin bags blocking pavements. In fact it's so bad that Lenny Henry can't get out of his Premier Inn," Clunes joked.

The panel also had time to discuss King Charles & Camilla's recent visit to Rome and the Vatican.

"The Kind and Queen visited Rome and went to the Colosseum... they were disappointed to find out that no shows were happening that day!" Merton joked.

"He got to the meet the Pope as well which is quite something," Lewis added.

"It's a big 20th wedding anniversary present, meeting the Pope. That's what they were out there for, their 20th wedding anniversary. Usually 20th is China but the tariffs are so high now..." Smith quipped.

The Royals also exchanged gifts whilst away on their trip, as Clunes revealed, "King Charles presented Italy's president Mattarella with 'The Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath'... and Camilla was given a Margherita pizza!"

"Which is named after Queen Margherita of Italy. I think a lot of their pizzas are named after Royals, like Prince Sloppy Giuseppe!" Smith added.

"This is the royal visit to Rome. The Queen told reporters that the secret to a lasting marriage was laughing at the same thing... like Meghan's new Netflix show!" Clunes joked. "During their state visit the King and Queen had an audience with his holiness at the Vatican... although there was an awkward moment when Camilla nipped out for a fag and the crowd thought they'd elected a new Pope!"