Daily briefing Sunday 21st December

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 on Sunday 21st December. I'm Daryl Jackson. A Sunday Times investigation has revealed China has been quietly expanding its diplomatic presence in London, buying up property and steadily increasing the number of officials in the UK.

0:48Many of the buildings are not registered as diplomatic premises raising fresh questions about transparency. It comes as a government is expected to approve plans for a£750 million mega Chinese embassy on the former Royal Mint site, including land where hundreds of residents currently live. Speaking to Times Radio, former British military intelligence officer Philip Ingram says the scale of the expansion should be causing far greater concern. He believes the issue has not received the level of scrutiny it deserves. I'm very concerned and I think we should be extremely concerned. China has been spending years slowly but surely infiltrating every part across our society and not just our society, all the societies in the West.

1:30and this Chinese super embassy will give them a jewel in the crown. Thousands of mourners have gathered at Bondi Beach to remember the 15 people who were killed exactly a week ago. Two gunmen opened fire as hundreds celebrated Hanukkah. Officials have announced a review into Australia's police and national intelligence agencies. Sir Keir Starmer will be Prime Minister next Christmas according to the chair of the Labour Party. Anna Turley says his government's committed to improving conditions for millions of families across the UK. The release of thousands of pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse by the US Department of Justice has left some who were anxiously awaiting the files disappointed.

2:09By law, the DOJ had to make all materials public by the end of Friday, but only some have been released, many with numerous redactions. Journalists are still working through the vast number of released files. Here's The Times' US Assistant Editor David Charter. We're just beginning to get some files now that show the rather depraved way that Epstein worked. We're getting handwritten notes from his staff of telephone calls from people who are providing him with girls, saying that the girls are ready, we've got a female for you, there's a female for tonight. Those sort of messages are coming in on his phone.

2:43And thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge this morning to watch the sun rise on the winter solstice. It's the shortest and darkest day of the year. From today, daylight begins to slowly return. And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:04This 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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