Afternoon Briefing Friday 30th October

0:00Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, which email spreadsheets and our shared Google doc, the headline hammer. With Google workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, docs, and sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google workspace with Gemini at go. GLE slash workspace with Gemini. That's go. GLE slash workspace with Gemini.

0:34Hello, this is your Times Radio afternoon briefing for Friday 30th October with me, James Kitchen. The Chancellor is drawing up plans for off-the-books defence funding to avoid billions in tax rises or public service cuts next year. John Healy is in talks with other NATO members about establishing an international bank that would finance part of the spending without it counting as borrowing. The Treasury is also looking at ways to allow private companies to provide the upfront funding for equipment that would then be leased back to the MOD. The Times columnist Edward Lucas sets out why a defence bank is an attractive proposition to ministers.

1:12If you own shares in a bank, then when the bank borrows and lends money, you're not actually on the hook for all of that. And it's the same if governments own shares in a bank. The bank can borrow and lend. and so a little bit of money put into the bank as a shareholding can turn into quite a lot of money in terms of lending power. Police are investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's stays with Geoffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Balmoral. Epstein visited the Scottish home of the monarch in 1999, understood to be on the invitation of the then Prince Andrew. A spokesperson for Police Scotland says active inquiries are ongoing.

1:50The former Duke of York has always denied any wrongdoing. The crypto industry suffered what's been called the largest bank heist in human history. Digital assets worth more than£4.7 billion have been taken from trading platform Binance by hackers from North Korea. Deposits and withdrawals are currently suspended. The company insists all user funds are safe. Leading figures in the film and television industry are paying tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart, who's died at the age of 86 after a short battle with Alzheimer's disease. His co-star in the X-Men film, Sir Ian McKellen, says he was a man to rely on, to admire, and in his case, love.

2:31The actor Zoe Wanamaker shared a flat with Stuart in Stratford-upon-Avon during their time at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He had a great sense of fun as well as seriousness, and it's made it much life with him. Just sharing that sort of atmosphere with him was something that was to be honoured in a way. You pass it on. It's about passing things on to a fellow actor. And you only learn, really, by watching and listening. And that's what I found with him, the generosity of it. A Liberal Democrat MP has told Times Radio she was pushed out of the way by Nigel Farage at the state opening of Parliament.

3:11It comes after the Reform UK leader said he didn't attend Wednesday's budget because he'd been involved in a physical altercation with a colleague at the state event in May. Speaking to Times Radio, Caroline Voden said Mr Farage had aggressively pushed past her to try to get to the front of the MP's procession. It was quite a hard shove. My arm was quite sore. He literally pushed me out of the way. Lots of people saw it. I let out a kind of yelp or a, I don't know how you would describe it, but I was quite shocked. And, you know, there are MPs from several different parties who witnessed what happened and would concur that I was pushed quite firmly out of the way so that he could get past.

3:49Remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:19logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at go.gle slash workspace with Gemini. That's go.gle slash workspace with Gemini. 98 of the top 100 U.S. accounting firms trust Bill to handle Bill pay processes. Why? Because our tools are built on over a trillion dollars of secure payments. We're not just moving money. We're powering financial workflows for half a million customers. That's a level of expertise you just can't fake.

4:55Ready to talk with an expert? Visit bill.com slash proven to get started and grab a$150 gift card as a thank you. Terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.