Afternoon Briefing Monday 12th October

0:01Welcome to the Times Radio Afternoon Briefing on Monday 12 October. Volodymyr Zelensky says a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could work, but only if the US puts pressure on Moscow. The Ukrainian president says he's waiting for details of a conversation between the Americans and the Russians. He also says he's waiting to see what specific steps the Americans are ready to take. We need American pressure on Russia, not sanctions relief, not concessions, but real pressure so that we can achieve at least what the American president posted about. an energy ceasefire. Andy Burnham has said Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum in 2016.

0:43He says that after arriving in Number 10, he asked about possible Russian interference and was given a clear answer that there was. Times radio presenter Andrew Neil says this is sour grapes from the Prime Minister. The reason he's doing this is he's preparing the ground. He's preparing the ground for another attempt to rejoin the EU. This is pure politics. The Remain side that fought the most appalling campaign cannot bring themselves to admit that they're the reason people voted to leave. They're the reason for the Brexit vote. Their campaign was a mixture of complacency and negativity, but they can't accept that responsibility.

1:23About 1.8 million people are claiming sickness benefits without the government knowing if they still qualify for them. At times, investigation into the welfare system shows the average claimant is more than two years overdue for an assessment. Fraser Nelson is leading the Times' welfare inquiry. He explains when people should be reassessed. It completely depends on the condition. Sometimes it's three months, sometimes it's 12 months. Every time you're given sixth benefit, you're given a review date. That's what we asked in our information, how many people have passed their review date. And by the way, that's just not to make sure that they're taking money when they shouldn't, but to see how they're getting on, what support they can be given.

1:59It should be anyway. In practice, it just doesn't happen. It's a system of check and forget. One person's been killed and 11 others injured in a new attack on the international airports in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. It happened after another strike claimed by the Houthis of Yemen killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. Middle East correspondent Natasha Turak says the Houthis have sophisticated weaponry. They've received more assistance from Iran and they have more advanced weapons than they've ever had before. Just to give you an example, they have been able to start using missiles and projectiles that do not emit a radar signature when they are flying, which means they do not trigger the sensors of the Patriot batteries.

2:44So the Patriot batteries aren't able to detect that they're in the sky. They're not able to track those incoming missiles and lock in on them and intercept them. You can follow the Times Radio News briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.