Afternoon briefing Monday 25th 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. This is the Times Radio afternoon news briefing on Monday 25th May. Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has admitted embezzling£400 ,000 in party funds over a 12-year period.

0:47Mr Murrell, who's the ex-husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been remanded in custody. Times Radio's newsroom reporter Olly Cole says the party will want to move on from this fairly quickly. They are essentially hoping that the SNP currently has a new face in Holyrood and can move on from this without too many worries. But it is something that the party keeps getting dragged into. This is a huge period of time and it is quite an eye-watering amount of money. We know that money went towards luxury items, towards a couple of cars, towards a motorhome as well. He's due to be sentenced in June.

1:23There are fears parents are stopping their 16 and 17-year-olds doing apprenticeships as they'd lose out on benefits by leaving education. Ministers are considering paying them hundreds of pounds a month. Enver Solomon from the social justice charity NACRO has told Times Radio it's an issue that needs addressing. Parents think on balance we're going to be worse off as a family, so I'm going to discourage my son or daughter from taking up an apprenticeship. And it's really a system that hasn't been properly thought through, and I think it's a flaw in the system, and the government seems to be recognising this flaw now and wanting to do something about it, which is a positive thing.

1:59A former Conservative Justice Secretary has told Times Radio sentences given to two 15-year-olds both convicted of rape feel light. The boys were spared jail with the judge in Hampshire giving them community orders instead. The review will look into whether that's unduly lenient. Alex Chalk, who also used to be the Solicitor General, has given us his assessment. You always have to be cautious. I've not heard all the facts of the case. I haven't read all the sentencing remarks but if I was Solicitor General now I think it overwhelmingly likely that I would be referring this case to the Court of Appeal to increase the sentence.

2:33because on an allegation or a conviction of this seriousness, it is almost inevitable that a custodial sentence follows and a lengthy custodial sentence of that. So this did come as a surprise. The UK's had its hottest May Day in nearly 80 years. Overnight, temperatures in some parts of southern England didn't drop below 19 Celsius. Times consumer writer Harry Wallop says people are increasingly seeing air conditioning as a viable option. These hot summers are becoming so much more frequent, and it's not just actually two or three days of the year. It is now increasingly two or three weeks of the year and it's just so unpleasant.

3:09You know, the knock-on costs of not having a good night's sleep and being grouchy and miserable. And Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi says he hopes they'll never be involved in a final-day relegation showdown again. They avoided the drop by beating Everton 1-0. West Ham went down. 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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