Afternoon Briefing Monday 19th October

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0:31Welcome to The Times Radio afternoon briefing on Monday 19th October. An Australian MP is in a critical condition after being struck by a car outside her office in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says it was a deliberate act. 65-year-old independent MP Helen Haynes was airlifted to hospital. Police say a knife was found in the vehicle. A 43-year-old man has been arrested. Orbenesi has made a short statement. All of our thoughts are with Helen, her family, her friends, her team and her community at this extremely difficult time. We are praying for her full recovery.

1:14I want to thank the first responders for their extraordinary work. There is a major police investigation underway and I can confirm that a suspect is in custody. A ban has been imposed on public gatherings and demonstrations in the French city of Marseille for most of today. The local administration has issued an edict. The city was hit by violence, protests and looting over the weekend. The ban will take effect from midday and last until 8pm local time. Elsewhere, a 19th century town hall in La Mose, which survived the two world wars, has been torched. Times radio presenter Andrew Neil lives in France.

1:55My heart broke for that. You know, that town hall survived the Nazis, but it didn't survive the barbarians who burnt it down. And just for British listeners, town halls matter a lot more in France than they do in Britain. Elected mayors in France have enormous power, of taxation and of doing things. In many ways, who the mayor is is more important than who the president is. Tax rises on businesses in John Healy's budget could stop a third of large investors and companies from spending in the UK. 100 senior executives were polled by YouGov. Steve Rigby, CEO of Rigby Group, one of the UK's largest privately owned companies, has been talking to Times Radio.

2:39We're seeing nine out of ten farms not investing right now, worrying about going to the threshold. We've got over a third of family businesses in the same position with employing people at a time we desperately need to employ young people across the country. We've got significant taxpayers leaving. We've got the AIM market collapsing. 13 % of companies left last year. This year looks set to be worse. And British puddings are apparently coming back into fashion. The Times reports that desserts served with custard are undergoing a revival at some of the country's smartest restaurants. Sticky toffee pudding, fruit crumble and trifle are back on menus.

3:16The broadcaster Prue Leith says such delicacies are great for children. Who doesn't like apple crumble or rhubarb crumble or sponge and custard? Basically, I think kids like anything that custard can go on top of. I think the one I'd probably, which is a sort of French tradition of fattening pudding, but I do like a tart tartin, which is basically a rather caramelly apple pie. You can follow The Times Radio news briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.