Afternoon briefing Wednesday 15th 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. This is your Times Radio news briefing for the afternoon of Wednesday the 15th of July. Reform has called for round-the-clock security for all MPs who want it, saying until Anne Whittacombe's death, no action had been taken to increase their MPs' security.

0:50Nigel Farage has said he is meeting officials tomorrow to discuss protection. The reform leader said he's got 597 death threats in the last four months. There is a narrative, an establishment narrative, that is trying to demonise reform and its major players. And I'm afraid what that does, it feeds to people who spend their lives online, who perhaps have sad little lives, and they start to believe that all of this is true. Police are investigating if their suspect in Anne Whittacombe's death was planning violence against other politicians. Whittacombe was a prominent member of Reform as its spokesperson for Immigration and Justice after she left the Conservatives in 2019.

1:31Iran says more than 30 Iranians have been killed and 260 injured in recent American strikes. Donald Trump has threatened to bomb bridges and power plants next week, unless talks resume. A temporary ceasefire broke down last week, with Iran also attacking US military sites. Labour MPs have raised concern about a list that's going to be given to Andy Burnham's team about alleged sexual harassment and bullying allegations by various colleagues. Several members have told The Times that they were worried that unsubstantiated gossip and historic issues could stop people getting jobs in the next Prime Minister's cabinet.

2:06Times newsletter editor Stefan Boscher explains how seriously Mr Burnham might take it. From what I've heard, he's been very sort of alive to the concerns of particularly women's PLP and some of the concerns about the culture in Westminster and the culture of the Labour Party. So this is an issue which I think a lot of MPs have come to him with, who is very sensitive to it. But equally, I don't really know if the Prime Minister can take on face value entirely. A list of MPs drawn up by other MPs that includes allegations which haven't necessarily been proven. Meanwhile, the Times understands that Mr Burnham has been persuaded not to make Ed Miliband his Chancellor, with Shibana Mahmood a potential frontrunner.

2:45The state pension is likely to increase from 67 to 68, seven years earlier than current law states. The Times understands that the government has told the Office for Budget Responsibility that its policy is to make the change in 11 years' time, affecting those who are currently between 49 and 55. Times Radio's business correspondent Dominic O 'Connell explains why the pensions minister disagrees. Torsten Bell says this is not true. Why did the OBR come up with this seven-year advance? Well, this report, it says the Treasury has confirmed to us that this is the government's current policy position rather than the legislated increase set out.

3:23So the Treasury's been talking rather back to the OBR saying, listen, it says 2044, we're going to do it seven years earlier in reality and this is going to save us a lot of money. The online safety minister has told Times Radio that we shouldn't underestimate how many 16 and 17-year-olds may opt in to a social media curfew for overnight use. The government's introducing the feature next spring as a default for older teenagers, though the Conservatives say it won't have much impact. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

4:18processes 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.

4:35With the new MyLows Pro Rewards American Express card, earn three points per dollar spent on Lows qualifying purchases for the first six months after card account opening. Plus, save 5 % every day on eligible purchases at Lows and earn points on eligible purchases everywhere else Amex is accepted. Card members get more at Lowe's. Subject to credit approval. 5 % can't be combined with any other offer. Exclusions and restrictions apply. Points subject to loyalty terms at lowes.com slash terms and credit reward terms at synchrony.com slash mlpra-terms. Visit lowes.com slash business credit.