Evening briefing Friday 15th 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 evening briefing on Friday the 15th of May. Labour's National Executive Committee has voted to allow Andy Burnham to stand in the Makerfields by-election in Greater Manchester.

0:47The mayor of the area is expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the party leadership if he wins the by-election. The Times understands it will be held on Thursday the 18th of June. Joe Twyman, co-founder of DeltaPole, has told Times Radio that outside of Greater Manchester, Burnham is not well known. And that is both good and potentially bad. He represents a clean slate. Now, this could be an advantage because people don't know much about him. They don't know what his plans are on, for instance, the economy, cost of living, immigration, etc, etc. And so he has an opportunity to explain his plans to people and attract attention because of that.

1:22But the flip side is that because people don't know much about him, the more they find out about him, the less they may like him. Britain and 45 other European countries have agreed changes to human rights laws that should make it easier to deport failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals. It's been decided that courts and national bodies have a wide margin to implement their own standards on issues such as the right to a family life. More details from the Times' Berlin correspondent Oliver Moody. What this new document says is that, yes, the right to a family life is there, but every member state has a right and a duty to balance that against the public interest, whether that is the prevention of crime or national security or the economic well-being of the rest of the country.

2:09And it is up to every country how they draw that balance. It's making the point clear that this right to a family life is not absolute. The government says it's blocked 11 foreign far-right agitators from entering the UK for a Tommy Robinson-led protest to be held tomorrow. Secure Starmer is accusing organisers of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London of peddling hatred and division. In a video published online, the Prime Minister has described organisers as thugs and racists. My government will not stand in the way of peaceful protest. But we will act decisively against hatred. We will use the full force of the law when that hatred manifests as violence.

2:49And we will ban those coming into the UK who seek to stir it up, as we have done already. A teenage e-bike rider has been jailed for six years and nine months for causing the death of a great-grandmother on a zebra crossing. 19-year-old Billy Stokoe had cannabis in his system and was holding his phone when his defective bike hit Gloria Stevenson in Sunderland last May. He then left the scene. Julie Francis is Gloria Stevenson's daughter. He was clearly panicking, you could see that. But he did just get on his bike and he rode away. And then you see him trying... Well, he hid his bike at his friend's house.

3:27He took his coat off and his balaclava and ran off. Yeah, he just ran off and left her. Like she was nothing, you know. 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? 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.

4:10PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk.

4:40Cup meal. The cups feature some of the biggest legends in football, like David Beckham, Thierry Henry, and Ronaldinho, Christian Pulisic, Lamine Yamal, and Alphonso Davies. Right now, get one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World Cup meal only at McDonald's. At participating McDonald's, only for a limited time, while supplies last, all rights reserved, copyright 2026, McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026.