Afternoon briefing Wednesday 25th June

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1:22This is The Times afternoon briefing on Wednesday 25th June. Donald Trump claims US airstrikes on Iran set the country's nuclear programme back by decades, despite a leaked Pentagon report to the country. He's railed against US media for publishing that report, which suggests the strikes have only set Tehran back a few months. This was an unbelievable hit by genius pilots and genius people in the military, and they're not being given credit for it because we have scum. CNN is scum. The New York Times is scum. They're bad people. They're sick. And what they've done is they're trying to make this unbelievable victory into something less.

2:02The president insists U.S. action ended the war between Israel and Iran and compared it to the nuclear bombs that the U.S. dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War. His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, suggested the report, which comes from his own department, had what he called other political motives. A Labour MP has told Times Radio she's willing to lose the whip to vote against the government's planned disability benefit cuts. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has told more than 100 potential rebels that voting for the plan is effectively a confidence vote in the government. But new MP Kat Eccles says she's willing to be kicked out of the party over the issue and criticise the government's tone.

2:40I'm really disappointed with it because what we're hearing them say is that we are completely against reforms and that is not what we're saying. We're just saying rearrange the timeline. And it's not just a case of walking through a lobby. We are walking through a lobby with the intention of taking money away from our most vulnerable residents with no safety net to catch them. The UK will buy 12 fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons. Speaking from the NATO conference at The Hague, the Defence Secretary John Healy says it's part of an international programme and nuclear weapons would only be carried in extreme circumstances.

3:18We're doing this because it strengthens our collective security through NATO. It also strengthens our industrial base because this is a programme that supports 20 ,000 jobs in Britain. It supports over 100 companies throughout the UK and the supply chain. So it's good for our security, it's good for British industrial base, and it's good also for the strength of the NATO alliance which is at the heart of the discussions this afternoon. The planes would only carry American nuclear bombs, so would need approval from the President. Thousands of passengers are stranded because of delays and cancellations on the Eurostar.

3:54Two people were hit by trains yesterday in France, and overnight 600 metres of cables were stolen near Lille station. Eurostar is advising passengers to cancel or postpone their trips. A survey suggests only 26.6 % of children enjoy writing in their spare time. The National Literacy Trust spoke to 115 ,000 children across the country, and that number is down from 46.8 % in 2010. The charity says that is worrying for children's development. And Glastonbury's opened its gates with thousands descending on Worthy Farm in Somerset. Neil Young and Alanis Morissette are among the headliners. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

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6:11Call 1-800-GRAINGER. Click grainger.com or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done.