Afternoon Briefing Wednesday 30th September

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted Best Low-Cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, Plus, they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years.

0:38Search IG.com to find out more. IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. Hello, this is your Times Radio afternoon briefing for Wednesday 30th September with me, James Kitchen. The health secretary, Evette Cooper, has announced the first ever national collective pension scheme for care workers. It comes after the Prime Minister admitted to Times Radio there may be a shortfall in his plans to fund a national care service. Andy Burnham said he wanted to introduce the new service, which would be free at the point of use as soon as possible. That's despite predictions the potential savings to be made by scrapping the triple lock on state pensions won't be fully realised until 2014.

1:22The Prime Minister also said he'd be willing to pitch his proposal to voters ahead of the next general election. I will put a plan before the country at the next general election where we say this is our national care service, this is how we will fund it. The decision on the triple lock, the adjustment, this releases this much. The NHS truly will be able to make savings from a better social care system. And then if there's a shortfall, we'd have to be honest about that shortfall. Donald Trump is preparing to make a final decision on banning US diesel exports. White House officials have briefed British counterparts about possible disruption to supplies which could send prices soaring at the pumps.

2:06Last year, the US accounted for 30 % of the UK's total diesel imports. Meanwhile, household energy bills are set to rise to almost£2 ,000 a year from January. That's according to the forecasting group Cornwall in sight, which expects Ofgem's energy price cap to rise by 16 % in the first three months of next year. The predicted increase is being driven by the Middle East conflict. A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has landed safely after a reported brawl between pilots. The Israel-bound Fly Dubai flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia. It was feared the plane had been hijacked after it transmitted an emergency signal.

2:46Israeli authorities say jets were scrambled. The Times' Israel correspondent Gabrielle Weinegger is following the story. It appears to be some kind of dramatic takeover of the cockpit by Israeli passengers. There was reportedly a violent confrontation between the pilots that led to a stabbing of one of the pilots and who was reportedly injured. It's coming out in dribs and drabs what really happened and it just sounds absolutely terrifying. The aircraft descended over 17 ,000 feet. It just had a huge plummet. It's been revealed one of the five men arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire had earlier contacted the police in a 999 call.

3:23The Times learned the suspect called officers at 12.45 on Sunday morning, almost an hour before a local farmer reported a group of men in balaclavas acting suspiciously. The Times' chief reporter Fiona Hamilton says she believes the farmer came across the scene after authorities had intervened. We know the base was already on high alert. There'd been increased patrols. There'd been beefing up barricades. My understanding is that there was some kind of separate intelligence of an alert to the base, which of course has been used as a forwarding post for US strikes in the Middle East in the Strait of Hormuz.

3:58It had already been threatened by Iran. Iran considers it to be a legitimate target because of that activity. There was a heightened preparedness there at the weekend. Prince Harry and Meghan have criticised international paparazzi who were seen looking into the grounds of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's school. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex called the behaviour extraordinarily reckless. They said it demonstrated an extraordinary lack of judgement, especially after the incident at RAF Fairford. Remember, you can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:40This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by IG. If you're serious about building your wealth, you already know the markets don't wait around. Whether you're a hands-on trader wanting full control over every single move, or you're actively scaling up your portfolio and looking for a platform you can trust, you need a partner that backs you. You need IG. We're talking zero commission on all stocks, shares and ETFs and absolutely no annual fees. IG was just voted Best Low-Cost ISA at the 2026 Boring Money Awards, plus they've been trusted by British investors for over 50 years. Search IG.com to find out more.

5:22IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital is at risk. Other fees may apply. At PwC, we optimise the systems that put your data to work, so you can scale your AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. And accelerate your tech evolution so you can redefine what's possible. From blueprint to breakthrough, we take you further with tech. So you can outthink, outpace, and outperform. PwC. So you can. PwC refers to the PwC network and or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.