Evening briefing Friday 10th July

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. Hello, this is your Times Radio evening briefing for Friday the 10th of July with me, James Kitchen. The Prime Minister has urged everyone across the political spectrum to come together after police launched a murder investigation into the death of Anne Whittacombe.

0:47The former Conservative minister was found dead at a home in Devon with serious injuries yesterday morning. The Times understands Whittacombe, who lived alone, was discovered by her carer. The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has called the circumstances of Whittacombe's death extremely distressing. A manhunt is now underway for a white male believed to be responsible. Sir Keir Starmer says his thoughts are with Anne's family. I think this is really important that this is a moment where we rise above any political differences, the political divide, and say the single most important thing at the moment is that all of us and the public help the police identify the individual suspected and make sure he's arrested as quickly as possible.

1:30He's clearly dangerous. The Conservative Party leader, Kemi Baitenok, says she's stunned while the former Tory MP Sir Jacob Rees-Smock told Times Radio he was appalled. It's very hard to find the right words. That Anne was 78 but I'd seen her not that long ago and she seemed very well. So when I heard the news I was very surprised. But to hear this is just unbelievable that somebody could possibly have attacked Anne and killed her. I mean it is deeply, deeply shocking. Four British nationals are feared to be among 12 people killed in Spain's worst wildfire for more than two decades. Officials in Andalusia calling the situation an unprecedented tragedy.

2:11Alessio Gerlander is a journalist at the Olive Press in Granada. The Andalusian government failed to send out an alert during the fires. The main problem with this particular blaze is that it's spreading incredibly fast due to very, very strong winds and it's proving very, very tough to bring under control. Detectives investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are travelling to the US to speak with the family of his accuser. The Times has learned that officers plan to talk to relatives of Virginia Giuffre, who died in April last year, about allegations of sexual assault against the former Duke of York.

2:48Andrew's former role as trade envoy is at the Centre of Thames Valley Police's investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. The Times' chief reporter Theona Hamilton says officers still need access to the original Epstein files. British police need to, when they're considering prosecutions, they need evidence that will pass muster in a courtroom. So the millions of documents that we have been scouring through are not good enough for them to base their investigation on. They need the originals and some of the exchanges are redacted. Some of the individuals in them are redacted. So they need the Department of Justice to give them the original documents.

3:25The High Court has rejected most of the allegations against five major car makers as part of the so-called Dieselgate scandal. 1.6 million vehicle owners brought forward claims that diesel cars were fitted with devices to cheat emissions tests. It's more than 10 years since Volkswagen admitted to using so-called defeat devices. Remember, you can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:58This 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. Hi, I'm Katie Prescott from the Times Tech Podcast.

4:42For two weeks each summer, Wimbledon becomes one of the biggest sporting events in the world. But behind every match is a vast operation of data, digital tools and live fan updates. In a special episode recorded the week before the championships, in paid partnership with IBM, I look at the technology behind the championships and how AI and data are helping fans follow the action in real time. Listen to the Times Tech podcast wherever you get your podcasts.