Daily briefing Sunday 3rd May

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. Welcome to the Times Radio news briefing on Sunday 3rd May. The Transport Secretary has told Times Radio there's no shortage of jet fuel in the UK.

0:44But Heidi Alexander admits it's an evolving situation and says airlines have got a good view of the next six to eight weeks. Airlines will be allowed to combine passengers from different flights to save fuel as the war in Iran pushes up prices. Alexander says she's focusing on contingency planning. If, and it's a big if because we're not in this place at the moment, if flight schedules do have to be trimmed back at some point. I don't want passengers turning up at a departure gate and getting a text half an hour before they thought they were going on their family holiday. The leader of the Green Party, Zak Polanski, has denied that pro-Palestinian marches can make Jewish people unsafe.

1:25The Prime Minister says some of the marches could be stopped because of their impact on the UK's Jewish community. But Polanski disagrees with Sir Keir Starmer. There are times when Jewish people, including myself, are actively unsafe. That's clearly very true and it's always been true. There's also times where we hear marches, Palestinian marches, that I as a Jewish person walk on, where Jewish people say that makes them feel unsafe. Now I don't think that actually makes them unsafe, clearly, because I'm a Jewish person who is on that march. So I think it's about having a conversation about how do we ensure that Jewish people are safe and Jewish people feel safe at times when they may perceive themselves to be unsafe.

2:01Donald Trump says the US could remove a lot more troops from Germany than the 5 ,000 previously announced. His decision appears to follow comments from German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, who said America is being humiliated by Iran. Michaela Kufner, chief political editor with the German news outlet Deutsche Welle, says the row could be very damaging. This has been going on for several days now. And clearly, Donald Trump wants to send the message that at his pleasure, he can weaken the Germans, which is also, of course, clearly the message when he increases tariffs on cars, which will disproportionately hit Germany.

2:41And we have one economist already warning that this alone could throw Germany into a recession. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says NATO is disintegrating. And Nigel Farage has told the Sunday Times he expects Reform UK to do stunningly well in Labour heartlands in the local elections on Thursday. The party leader says a prediction that reform could gain more than 1 ,500 councillors is quite realistic. Kevin Schofield, political editor of HuffPost UK, says Labour is urging caution while reform does seem to be doing well. They're calling press conferences left, right and centre. They're just riding the crest of a wave right now.

3:17That won't last forever. So it's just a question for them of don't muck up between now and Thursday. For Labour, it's all about damage limitation. They'll be trying to get their core vote out hammering home this message I guess from number 10 that now is not the time basically to be changing Prime Minister. And you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This 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.

3:59Strong 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

4:24Lamin-Yemal steps into McDonald's, looks left, sees Pulisic, looks right, sees Jimenez. Gives a nod to Ronaldinho in the corner with a FIFA World Cup meal. Ronaldinho sees Son in the booth. Son finds Beckham going for extra Big Mac sauce. He's got Davies at the table just behind him. Davies going for his collectible cup. A steal by Henry, who pulls his own collectible cup. Collect one of nine legendary cups with a FIFA World Cup meal. At participating McDonald's for a limited time. While supplies last, all rights reserved. 2026 McDonald's at FIFA World Cup 2026.