Afternoon briefing Monday 30th June

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted Best Low-Cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, Plus, they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years.

0:38Search IG.com to find out more. IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. This is the Times afternoon briefing on Monday 30th June. The BBC says it should have pulled a live stream of Glastonbury which contained anti-Israel chants. Punk group Bob Villan chanted death to the IDF as they performed. The corporation now says it regrets broadcasting that set life and says it contained utterly unacceptable and anti-Semitic sentiments. Labour Minister and former Home Secretary Jackie Smith told Times Radio the BBC's actions at the time were not good enough. Look, I don't think the BBC has a bias, but I think it made a mistake here.

1:22It's not good enough simply to say on screen that, you know, this is dodgy language. which it was far beyond that, and it should have been broadcast live. And I think it would have been possible for the BBC to stop that. The regulator Ofcom says it's very concerned and is seeking further information, and Joshua Rosenberg-Casey told Times Radio the BBC and the band could face legal proceedings. The impact on that audience, and crucially on the audience watching at home, would be to stir up racial hatred. The courts have decided they have taken the view that Jews are a race and a religion. So I would say there is certainly a case to answer that it's likely that racial hatred was stirred up by that broadcast.

2:05The campaign group Palestine Action says it's bringing a high court challenge to try to block the government banning it under terror laws. Ministers are due to start the process of prescribing the group in Parliament this afternoon. And separately, a Palestinian human rights group has lost a high court challenge over British arms exports to Israel. Al Haq unsuccessfully argued the government providing component parts of F-35 fighter jets to Israel was unlawful. Elsewhere, the Prime Minister is leading efforts to win over dozens of Labour MPs who are still planning to vote against his welfare reforms.

2:40About 50 backbenchers are still thought to be planning to rebel over disability benefit cuts tomorrow. Rachel Maskell is one of those leading that effort. She spoke to Times Radio. In all consciousness, they cannot vote for measures which will push their constituents into poverty, take away that vital support and make people dependent on adult social care or indeed the NHS, costing far more into the future. I really urge the government, please, at this 11th hour, pull the bill. Ministers say they've made what concessions they can. Amber heat health alerts are in place across the south of England and the East Midlands, with temperatures set to reach the low to mid-30s.

3:20It's expected to be the hottest ever opening day of Wimbledon. Times Radio's Rob Malarkey, who's a tennis commentator, says the heat shouldn't bother the players. Most of them are used to it. They play in all climates, all times of the year. Australia, the Australian Open at the start of the year, the tournaments down under are absolutely brutal. I mean, they do have rest breaks as well. They have heat breaks, actually. If it goes to a third set, for example, in women's events, they have a 10-minute heat break if it gets to a certain point. And I think that might be something that the authorities could look at here if it gets that bad.

3:51And in rugby, Scotland's scrum half Ben White says it's an incredible honour to be called up to the British and Irish Lions Tour of Australia. He's replacing Wales' Thomas Williams, who's ruled out with a hamstring injury. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

4:13This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted best low-cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, plus they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years. Search IG.com to find out more.

4:54IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. Hi, I'm Danny Fortson from the Times Tech Podcast, which is currently sponsored by ServiceNow. ServiceNow describes itself as an AI control tower for business reinvention, connecting systems, data, and AI so workflows more smoothly across organizations. The platform integrates with different clouds, models, and data sources, bringing them together in one place. To learn more about how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com.