Evening briefing for Tuesday 13th October

0:00Dominic O 'Connell and Hannah Previtt here from the Business Podcast. Join us for a special episode with President of the British Chambers of Commerce and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, and PwC's UK tax leader, Claire Blackburn, as we look ahead to John Healy's first budget. We'll discuss the challenge he faces trying to get the economy growing, with an uncertain geopolitical backdrop and a party that's not keen on making cuts to public spending. We'll also ask what businesses are looking for, whether the government will be in a position to deliver, or if more tax squeezes are on the way.

0:34Listen to The Business wherever you get your podcasts.

0:43This is your Times evening briefing on Tuesday the 13th of October. President Trump says intelligence sharing has not ended with Ukraine. It comes after President Zelensky claimed key intelligence warnings weren't shared by Ukraine's allies ahead of a Russian ballistic missile attack. Igor Novikov, a former advisor to Zelensky, said it was unusual for a lack of warning. Yesterday was a direct witness to multiple ballistic missile strikes in Kiev without any prior warning or an air raid alert. Has that happened before? Once or twice in the last four and a half years. The fact that it happens 24 hours after certain comments from the American officials makes me wonder whether it's related.

1:28I mean, it's a bit too much of a coincidence. The U.S. president, meanwhile, was clear. No, we haven't. We helped them. But we're really helping them get to a final answer. We want the war ended, Peter. We are helping them and we are sharing intel. We want the war to end. So we're working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end. British troops have been training to recapture the Falkland Islands in what the Times understands is the first time in years such an operation has been war-gamed. It comes after the president of Argentina warned last month his country could act swiftly to recover the islands, which he claimed were under illegal foreign occupation by the UK.

2:07The Defence Secretary has revealed a Royal Marine was forced to test an underwater military drone in his garden pond because of red tape preventing a trial elsewhere, where Streeting was speaking at a House of Laws committee describing how defence technology testing is being held back due to regulatory frictions. He applauded the innovation but not the barriers standing in the way. I met one raw marine who was developing underwater drone technology but testing it in a pond in his back garden because the regulatory hurdles to test in other environments were too high. I mean, I applaud his ingenuity and drive for innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, but there should be the same can-do approach in his workplace.

2:53The head of MI5 has described the suspected plot at RAF Fairford as not unique, but is warning Iran and Russia stepping up hybrid campaigns in Britain. Sir Ken McCullum's given his annual update on terror threats and says AI could be used to create bioweapons. A German airline says a hijack alert on one of its planes was caused by a malfunctioning radio. Flights were grounded and fighter jets scrambled after the code was accidentally transmitted over Croatia. The Corondon service from Greece arrived safely at Nuremberg Airport, which has since reopened. And re-offending is off the charts, according to the Conservatives, as a further 650 prisoners are freed under the early release scheme.

3:34It follows the first group of around 700 leaving early two weeks ago. Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said the majority of prisoners haven't been tagged before release, despite assurances the tagging system would be the toughest in history. And you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online. That's your Times Evening Briefing on Tuesday 13th October.

4:09Dominic O 'Connell and Hannah Previtt here from The Business Podcast. Join us for a special episode with President of the British Chambers of Commerce and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, and PwC's UK tax leader, Claire Blackburn, as we look ahead to John Healy's first budget. We'll discuss the challenge he faces trying to get the economy growing, with an uncertain geopolitical backdrop and a party that's not keen on making cuts to public spending. We'll also ask what businesses are looking for, whether the government will be in a position to deliver or if more tax squeezes are on the way.

4:44Listen to The Business wherever you get your podcasts.