Afternoon briefing Tuesday 7th July

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 for Tuesday 7th July. President Trump's expected to support selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

0:44The move would be seen as a significant gesture to President Erdogan on day one of the NATO summit in Ankara. The sale would reverse a ban Trump imposed seven years ago on national security grounds. Meanwhile, The Times' defence editor Larissa Brown, who's in Ankara, says Washington is concerned about the UK's defence investment plan and Sir Kirstama may be challenged on it. A US official told me that the UK's pledges on defence are faltering and Starmer's going into the summit without that clear path and without actually a completely funded defence investment plan. If you remember last week, we only saw four years out of ten years of that equipment plan actually invested.

1:23Nigel Farage has accused Sky News of harassing his family, something the broadcaster has denied doing. The leader of Reform UK is expected to be interviewed by the Parliamentary Standards watchdog within the next fortnight, over a£5 million gift he received from a cryptocurrency billionaire. He says it was a personal gift and denies any wrongdoing. Reform MP Sarah Pochin says it's a witch hunt. We knew that this was going to start to happen as we get closer to a general election, inevitably. But the point is we know that we are going to be scrutinised to death and we are expecting it, but this is just another witch hunt by the establishment, terrified that they can see us coming.

2:06An ADHD charity says an increase in benefits payments to people who suffer from the condition is because more people are being given the recognition they deserve. More than 100 ,000 people with ADHD are getting disability benefits without any requirements to look for work. It's an increase of 40 % in the two years since Labour came to power. Justice Minister Jake Richards has told Times Radio it's a sign that many young people are in trouble. Those are shocking statistics that are on the front page of The Time today. We've got to get a grip of the number of people who are no longer in work and we need to offer them support and opportunities and the incentives to get back to work.

2:42And the government are already taking action in regards to investing in the young person's guarantee, trying to offer a guarantee of work or training or education to young people who've been out of work for some time. A group of economists have written to Andy Burnham, calling on him to overhaul the tax system. Their ideas include a property value tax. Among them is Lord O 'Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, who's advising the Makerfield MP. Times Radio's business correspondent Dominic O 'Connell has a preview of what's being suggested. The policy ideas are based on a report to be published on Thursday by economists at University College London, and they are radical.

3:20Stamp duty and council tax would be replaced with an annual charge, while six of the big personal taxes, including income and capital gains tax, would be swapped for a single levy on all income. The ideas may not immediately find their way into a Burnham budget, but they will provide food for thought for him and whoever whose Chancellor turns out to be. 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.

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