Daily briefing Saturday 23rd August

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 Daily Briefing for Saturday 23rd August. Nigel Farage has announced a blueprint for what he's calling the mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who come to the UK on small boats.

0:47In an interview with The Times, the Reform UK leader said the only way forward is to detain and deport all migrants who arrive illegally. We have a massive crisis in Britain with illegal immigration. It's not only costing us many, many billions a year. It's not only posing a national security threat. We've had three suspected Iranian terrorists recently arrested. But it's leading to public anger at a level because of sexual assaults on women and girls. There's just one example. Farage is pledging a reform government would arrange five deportation flights a day, but they are likely to encounter extensive legal, political and practical obstacles should Farage win the next election.

1:29His claim that Britain is facing a massive crisis was disputed by Sabi Dalu, a co-convener for Stand Up to Racism. The majority of the world's refugees are in neighbouring countries. We've barely taken hundreds since 2021 and we obviously have a responsibility, especially when we intervene in countries abroad. So Britain actually takes a tiny minority of the world's refugees. Health leaders are warning that NHS patients in England are being denied breakthrough cancer drugs because they are deemed to be too expensive. The medication, however, is available in more than 20 European nations, including Scotland.

2:08The UK heads of global pharma companies are demanding that ministers overhaul the NHS treatment watchdog. Kate Harvey was first diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. Speaking to Times Radio, she said she's infuriated. I've worked all my life, and my family have all worked all their lives to pay taxes for the NHS. We either have an NHS that funds drugs, life-saving drugs, or we don't. I do everything I can to stay well. I sleep well, I eat well, I exercise, I don't smoke. And if I lived somewhere else, I could access these drugs for free. And to fund them myself is impossible. They're just so expensive.

2:44You couldn't do that. The US Justice Department has released excerpts of its recent interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In them, she denied the existence of a so-called client list kept by Epstein and said she didn't witness any inappropriate conduct by Donald Trump or the former US President Bill Clinton. The Trump administration is seeking to close down an outcry over a failure to release evidence pertaining to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Whatever the nature of the president's friendship, if you will, however you want to define that with Epstein, I was never witness.

3:22I think they were friendly, like people are in social settings. And England's head coach John Mitchell says there is so much more left within his players after their 69 points to 7 victory over the United States at the Women's Rugby World Cup. Almost 43 ,000 watched the opening match at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, a tournament's record attendance. You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

3:52This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes 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. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

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