Afternoon briefing Wednesday 9th 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 the Times Afternoon Briefing on Wednesday 9th July. A retired judge who's carried out a major review of the court system has told Times Radio the whole system in England and Wales will collapse if the government doesn't do something radical.

0:48Sir Brian Leveson suggesting thousands of defendants should lose their automatic right to a jury trial, including in cases like fraud or possessing indecent images of children. He says they could be heard in a magistrate's court instead, but insists that that will not mean softer justice. The changes I've made don't actually impact on the sentences that have presently been passed. The average custodial sentence length for those offences is well within, well within the magistrate's court limits at the moment. So I'm not suggesting that any sentence should be less as a consequence of the changes I've made.

1:26The government says it's considering the findings. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, will go on strike for five days this month. The British Medical Association says they will walk out between the 25th and 30th July. Their health secretary, Wes Streeting, has told The Times the public won't forgive doctors for striking over pay. Zekir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are holding talks on day two of the French president's state visit. They're expected to focus on small boat crossings in the Channel. In particular, the Prime Minister is trying to press the President to agree to a one-in, one-out migrant returns deal.

2:02French Senate member Olivier Caddy, who's travelling with Macron, told Times Radio he's sceptical of the idea. I'm not so sure it will work. Sometimes some slogan looks to be an easy solution. It may improve some cases. I don't think it will fix this level of numbers. Ukraine has accused Russia of the biggest drone attack of the war so far. It says it shot down most of the 728 drones used. 13 missiles were also fired. The Southport inquiry will hear impact statements from four families of children injured in the stabbings. It'll also hear from those at the dance class where three girls were murdered.

2:43The chairman says his inquiry will consider whether court should be able to impose restrictions on people suspected of planning violent offences, even if they've not committed a crime. Seven of the UK's largest house builders have agreed to pay£100 million towards affordable housing after an investigation by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority was looking into claims they shared sensitive information about pricing and buyer incentives. The companies insist the payment is not an admission of wrongdoing, though. And in Formula One, Red Bull have sacked team principal Christian Horner.

3:16The company twice cleared him in internal investigations after a female colleague accused him of inappropriate texts more than a year ago. He's been in charge for 20 years and overseen eight wins in the Drivers' Championship. Last month, he spoke to Times Radio about this year's difficult season. Sport goes in cycles and it's about now building for the next one. And of course, continuity as well and stability is something that's always been hugely prevalent, certainly within Red Bull Racing. Don't forget to subscribe to The Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

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