Afternoon Briefing Monday 2nd March

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. Welcome to the Times Radio afternoon briefing on Monday the 2nd of March. The Foreign Secretary says the UK decided to let the United States use British air bases to attack Iran because circumstances have changed.

0:45The Prime Minister initially refused a request from Washington to use UK facilities but says they can now be used for defensive purposes. Yvette Coopers told Times Radio the progress of the conflict requires a change of tack. What we've seen over the weekend is now Iranian attacks on partner Gulf countries that were not involved in any of the strikes over the weekend on Iran, including on countries where there are 300 ,000 British citizens there. They've got ballistic missiles and launchers pointing at them in the Gulf. So this is about defensive support for those partner Gulf countries. The former Conservative Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has told Times Radio that ministers should have made a different assessment from the start.

1:30It's just absolutely beggars belief that the government was so naive to think that this could all go on and have nothing to do with us. We've got a lot of people in the region. We've got bases in the region. Our shipping has been under attack for, what, two years in the region by Iranian-sponsored Houthis. And so the idea that we weren't involved and somehow could just avoid this was just absolutely extraordinary. and, of course, has led to the inevitable U-turn. It's understood officials are working on plans for the potential evacuation of more than 100 ,000 Britons from the Middle East. Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, says 102 ,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the region.

2:06In total, she says 300 ,000 British citizens are in Gulf countries targeted by Iran. The journalist Isabel Oakeshott is based in Dubai. She says people there are not scrambling to get out. Certainly the super-rich may be leaving. That's what super rich people do when there's trouble. But I don't see like a massive evacuation of residents here. Of course, the situation is changing pretty much by the hour, but it isn't as if there's a sort of panic here. Donald Trump says combat operations in Iran will continue until all America's objectives are achieved. He says that could take four or five weeks.

2:43He's confirmed three US service members have been killed in action since the military assaults began on Sunday morning. As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives, we pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen. And 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.

3:26In 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. Hey everybody, it's Farnoosh Tarabi, host of the So Money podcast. This episode is sponsored by Smart Travel, a new podcast from NerdWallet.

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