Afternoon Briefing Wednesday 25th February

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 on Wednesday 25th February. Donald Trump has described Iran as the world's number one sponsor of terror in his State of the Union address.

0:44But he said he wants to solve tensions with Tehran through diplomacy. Addressing both houses of Congress, he claims that tariffs paid by foreign countries will eventually replace the modern-day system of income tax. It was the longest State of the Union address ever at an hour and 48 minutes. He was heckled repeatedly. My first 10 months, I ended eight wars, including Cambodia. Isn't it funny? Sick people. Members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated$19 billion from the American taxpayer. Oh, we have all the information. And in actuality, the number is much higher than that. Look, nobody stands up.

1:27These people are crazy, I'm telling you. They're crazy. Energy prices for most households in Britain will fall by 7 % from April. It means£117 will be cut from a typical annual bill after Ofgem updated the price cap. The reduction leaves a household with average consumption paying£1 ,641 a year. Times Radio's business correspondent Dominic O 'Connell has the context. This is not because of any change in energy prices. It's because of a change in government policy, which has taken some of the green costs out of the bill and put them into general taxation. So it's a structural change, which of Jim says accounts for about a£150 reduction in the price cap.

2:11There's a row brewing over how many of the Mandelson files will be released by the government. Some are being held back until an investigation and potential trial have taken place. The questions are being asked about whether they could actually prejudice a trial. Former Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove, who now edits The Spectator, has told Times Radio that redaction is a mistake. I think it's ridiculous. I think that the police are quite wrong to maintain this, and I think that the government should publish those documents as soon as possible, ideally this week. I think the idea that internal government documents that relate to the process around the appointment of Peter Mandelson would prejudice any future criminal trial, and of course Peter Mandelson maintains his innocence, I think that idea is ridiculous.

2:54And Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's been banned from riding horses. Royal aides have told the son it's over fierce. He could be photographed grinning and smiling while under investigation for misconduct in public office. He's long denied wrongdoing. The former Duke of York's biographer, Andrew Loney, says Prince William or even the king could be questioned by police. They're material witnesses. I think the big question we're all asking is what did the royal family know, when did they know it and what did they do? We need to clean out the stables, have a reset, and if Charles is complicit in this cover-up, then I think he has to fall on his sword.

3:26This will define his reign. You can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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