Afternoon briefing Thursday 2nd April

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 Radio News Briefing for the afternoon of Thursday 2nd April. The Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will be hosting a virtual international meeting on the Strait of Hormuz this lunchtime.

0:46The meeting will look at viable diplomatic and political measures to reopen the vital oil and gas shipping route involving representatives from 35 countries. As a result of the war in Iran, the price of petrol in the UK increased by a record amount in March by 20p per litre. The hikes have added£11 to the cost of filling an average family car, making it about£84. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davie says travelling by train should be subsidised by the government and fuel duty cut. Trade Minister Kate Dearden has said there are no current supply issues for fuel in the UK. She told Times Radio that the government is focused on the costs affected by the war.

1:23Since we've come into office, since we were elected, we're making sure that we do have longer term sustainability and resilience in our economy. That's making sure that we are more stable, that we get our finances back under order so we can better fund our public services, but make sure that people do feel more secure, whether that's at work and at home. But we do recognise that this crisis is obviously impacting people here at home. BBC Director General Tim Davey is spending his last day in the role as questions still remain over what the BBC knew about a police investigation into an allegation against Scott Mills.

1:59It's understood the BBC sacked the presenter last week because they had only just learnt that the alleged victim was under 16. Ollie Cole from the Times newsroom says it doesn't seem to add up. In 2018, The Sun reported that a BBC radio host was being questioned over an allegation of a historical sex offence involving a child. The report said the alleged victim was under 16. Scott Mills reminded the public in a statement yesterday that he was not charged because not enough evidence was found by the CPS. A rocket heading for the moon is currently going around the Earth before heading 244 ,000 miles away and 5 ,000 miles beyond the moon.

2:33Artemis II launched last night in Florida with four astronauts on board, three men and a woman. Dr. McGann Christian is a reserve astronaut and senior exploration manager at the UK Space Agency and told Times Radio they'll probably be asleep. Well, now they're actually weightless. They're floating around. They probably have some kind of sleeping bags so that they can attach to the side of the craft and they can use that as a place to sleep. When you're in weightlessness and you sleep, you go to your sort of natural position, basically a fetal position. So these astronauts will be floating around in a fetal position sleeping.

3:12Sir Keir Starmer has urged Nigel Farage to sack Reform's housing spokesperson over comments about the Grenfell Tower fire. Simon Dudley, a former executive at Holmes England, said the fire was a tragedy and a failure, but that everyone dies in the end. He told Inside Housing that the sector was stifled by over-regulation in the wake of the tragedy, which killed 72 people. Mr Dudley said many more people die on the roads, but they were not making cars illegal. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

3:47This 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. Every morning throughout the World Cup, the game football podcast from The Times and Sunday Times will bring you your essential daily briefing.

4:36We'll hear from our reporters inside the England and Scotland camps bringing you the big news first. We've got reporters covering the best of the rest and following all the biggest stories. From FIFA banning water to Donald Trump coming on as a sub against Paraguay. OK, maybe not the last bit, but who knows? So join the game for the biggest show on earth. Find the game wherever you get your podcasts.