Afternoon briefing Monday 14th July

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. This is The Times Afternoon Briefing on Monday the 14th of July. A report into Greg Wallace's behaviour has found more than half the complaints against him were substantiated.

0:44Forty-five were upheld. They were mostly about inappropriate language and humour, but also included one case of unwanted physical contact and three of being in a state of undress. The Times' media correspondent Alex Farber says the BBC and the Masterchef production company Banerjee have apologised. Now the BBC has also admitted that perhaps it could and should have done more sooner, that opportunities were missed to address the behaviour and that it falls below the values that it expects of people that work for it. And it has also confirmed that there's no way back to the BBC for Greg Wallace in any way, shape or form.

1:22Greg Wallace last week said he'd been cleared of the most serious allegations. The Bank of England governor has told The Times interest rates could be cut as he warns the economy isn't growing to its full potential. Andrew Bailey says there's slack in the economy, which means resources are underused. He says there is now consistent evidence that companies have cut jobs and reduced pay rises since the Chancellor increased employers' national insurance contributions last autumn. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told Times Radio government policy has also helped business, though. We've also seen the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country, and it's normal for businesses to make adjustments to their plans.

2:01But we're really focused as a government in supporting businesses to create more jobs. That's why our plans to invest in the skills system, reducing energy bills for businesses, getting these trade deals across the line are all examples of the government rolling up its sleeves to make sure that we're creating opportunities for businesses to grow and to be profitable in our country. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting has welcomed talks with the Doctors' Union to stave off strike action, but government insiders warn of pay contagion in the health service. The main nursing union is now calling the government's pay off a derisory.

2:32The Royal College of Nursing is balloting its members in England on whether to accept 3.6%. RCN England's Executive Director Patricia Marquis told Times Radio it's also about reforming pay scales. We do think that the lowest pay band, which is band 5 for a registered nurse, is the most disadvantaged. and we do think that nurses are stuck in that pay band and they should be moving into the next pay band to reflect the extra duties, the extra expertise that they take on and that currently is where our focus is. West Streeting insists he will not increase the pay offer for striking resident doctors.

3:11A man has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years after admitting murdering his 21-year-old girlfriend in South Lanarkshire in Scotland. Ewan Methven killed Phoenix Spencer Horne last November in East Kilbride, then beheaded and dismembered her body. He took two days to call emergency services, during which time he texted Phoenix's mother, pretending to be her. And Thames Water has become the latest water company to announce a hosepipe ban. It starts next Tuesday on the 22nd and covers customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire and some of Berkshire. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify Buy or listen live to Times Radio online.

3:58This 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? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk.

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