Daily briefing Sunday 5th October

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 Daily Briefing on Sunday 5th October. Police forces are to be given new powers to put conditions on repeat demonstrations.

0:42They will include the ability to ban protests outright. The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, says repeated demonstrations can leave religious communities feeling unsafe. And she says there is considerable fear within the Jewish community. She's been updating Times Radio. We will be amending sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act, which is about the conditions and the restrictions that the police can place on protests. I will be making explicit in the law that they can take cumulative disruption into account when they're placing conditions. So that is a gap that I think in my conversations over the last couple of days with people all over the country and including with the police, that's a gap that I think does need tightening up.

1:23The Met Police says 488 people were arrested in central London during protests supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action. The demonstration went ahead despite pleas to postpone following the synagogue attack in Manchester. Sunday Times columnist Matthew Syed went along to Trafalgar Square. He says he asked people there whether Hamas bears some responsibility for the situation in Gaza and was confronted with a wave of anti-Semitism. People became abusive. I was sweared at. I was jostled. Three women, one of whom recognised me and said, oh, you're the journalist, Matthew Syed. And I thought, OK, will you chat?

2:00When I asked that question, do you think Hamas is partially responsible? Again, swear words, abuse, you're not a journalist, you're not objective, you're prejudiced, you're a racist. Teams from the US, Israel and Hamas are heading to Cairo to discuss the next steps in Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza. Hamas has already agreed to some parts of it, including releasing the remaining hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes those still detained will be freed in the coming days. Middle East correspondent Yotam Konfino says Hamas also has reason to be pleased. I think they can see this as some sort of a victory, something that they can spin in their favor when they go out and hopefully announce that there is a ceasefire, that they have managed to push Israel out of crucial areas of Gaza City.

2:48That is, I would say, a big hurdle that has been solved. The Conservatives are pledging to create a removals force to deport 150 ,000 people a year. They say it would be based on America's ICE agency and have new powers, including the use of facial recognition to spot illegal immigrants. Tory Mayor of the Tees Valley Ben Houchin has told Times Radio he thinks there's something else they should be focusing on too. I think the emerging opportunity for the Conservative Party to become relevant again is the economy. I genuinely believe Labour have made some huge and terrible mistakes over the last 12 months.

3:24I think the budget in November is going to be even worse than some people are starting to signal. And I think most of the public and a lot of people in politics are being slightly flippant about some tax rises that are coming. But I think that is going to be a monumental issue for the country. And you can follow the Times 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?

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