Afternoon Briefing Friday 1st May

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Welcome to the Times Radio afternoon briefing on Friday 1st May. The Met Police Commissioners told Times Radio there is a building pandemic of anti-Semitism in British society.

0:45Scotland Yard is to reassess future pro-Palestinian marches after the UK terror threat level was raised too severe following the stabbings in Golders Green. Sir Mark Rowley says that at present, protests cannot be banned. That's a matter for Parliament to change the law. At the moment, the law doesn't permit that. The law says if someone wants to have a protest, there is no legal power to stop that. I think it's really good the Home Secretary has asked Lord Ken Macdonald, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, to review the law around hate crime and protest. And he's obviously looking at whether more assertive laws are required.

1:18And I know he's going to be reporting to her in the near future. A 45-year-old man's been charged with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in North London. Private landlords could face fines of up to£40 ,000 if they evict tenants without a valid reason. The Renters' Rights Act comes into effect today. 11 million people who rent in England now have stronger protections, including the end of no-fault evictions. But David Byers, deputy property editor with The Times, says landlords are not happy and fear further penalties. Landlords are worried the government is going to increase the rate of capital gains tax, which they would pay when selling to meet the level of income tax.

1:57Landlords have lost mortgage interest tax relief, which means that basically it becomes more and more expensive to rent out properties. Margins are getting squeezed. The King has landed in Bermuda for a solo royal trip after his state visit to the US with the Queen. It's his first trip to a British overseas territory as sovereign. The visit to America was warmly received by Donald Trump, who has since scrapped tariffs on Scotch whisky. Times Business columnist Ian King says it's great news. According to the Scotch Whiskey Association, the tariffs drove down exports to the US by about 15 % between April last year and February this year.

2:35So it is undoubtedly very good news indeed. Scotch is one of the UK's prime food and drink exports and the US is a huge export market. And research commissioned by the RSPB has found that three quarters of a million people aged between 16 and 29 go birdwatching on a regular basis. Among Gen Z, 10 times as many people now list birdwatching as a hobby compared with 2018. It's thought that social media and birdsong apps such as Merlin Bird ID have prompted the rise. Poppy Rummery from RSPB Bempton on the Yorkshire coast says there's lots of activity right now. So at the moment we are welcoming back our puffins to Bempton Cliffs.

3:14We have plenty of gannets around, fulmers, kittywakes, so the cliffs are really coming alive with sound at the moment. But we do also have other songbirds, things that you might typically see in your garden. So things like blackbirds, robins. The birds are getting louder. They're singing. And you can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This episode of The Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business?

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