Afternoon Briefing Thursday 11th September

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 your Times Afternoon Briefing for Thursday the 11th of September. Lord Mandelson has been sacked as British ambassador to the US for his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted of child sexual offences.

0:46In light of additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States. The emails show, Mr Speaker, that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. That was Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty. Just yesterday, the Prime Minister said this. The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with him. He's right to do so. I have confidence in him and he's playing an important role in the UK-US relationship.

1:29MP Neil O 'Brien responded for the opposition, saying they need more information. And the simple question is this. Is the minister now saying that the Prime Minister did not know about any of this at the point where he was appointed? Don't say the boxes were ticked and the process was followed. What did the Prime Minister know at the point of his appointment? Peter Mandelson was found by The Times to have asked Jeffrey Epstein to do a background check on an advisor after Epstein was convicted for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. He apologised earlier this week for his association, saying he deeply regrets the connection.

2:04Ben Wallace, the former Defence Secretary, told Times Radio he should never have been appointed ambassador regardless. Peter Mandelson made a whole career out of resigning and regretting his service in the last government. If you remember, he often had to leave because of usually some inappropriate relationship with some incredibly wealthy people. And even when he was EU commissioner, there was articles in the media and links to people like these Russian oligarchs, Dara Prasco, who've been sanctioned. And I think it was a very odd choice to send him to the United States. His sacking comes just a week before Donald Trump visits the UK to meet the Prime Minister, as the US president faces questions too about his friendship with Epstein.

2:44The shooting of a right-wing influencer in America who was a close ally of Donald Trump's has led to the president saying his death was caused by a constant demonisation of people on the right. Charlie Kirk was 31 and was touring universities to debate college students on conservative values. He was shot at Utah Valley University last night and died in hospital. President Trump says it's a consequence of vilifying those you disagree with. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today.

3:27And it must stop right now. The MP Paula Barker has withdrawn from the Labour deputy leadership race. Dame Emily Thornberry has also withdrawn, leaving Bridget Philipson, Lucy Powell and Bel Ribeiro Addy. The threshold for nominations is 80 fellow Labour MPs and that closes at 5pm. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

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. On Times Radio, you'll hear intelligent discussion and expert analysis on the big stories of the day and from the politicians making the political weather.

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