Evening Briefing Monday 12th January

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 Monday the 12th of January with me, James Kitchen. The technology secretary says deepfakes and non-consensual intimate images are to be made a criminal offence.

0:45It comes as Ofcom launches a formal investigation into X's AI tool Grok over concerns it's being used to create sexualized imagery of women and children. The media watchdog is to examine whether the social media platform is doing enough to prevent users from seeing illegal content. Its owner Elon Musk claims controls have been tightened. that addressing MPs in the Commons, Liz Kendall urged X to take more dramatic action, regardless of Ofcom's conclusion. This is not, as some would claim, about restricting freedom of speech. That's something that I and the whole government hold very dear. It is about tackling violence against women and girls.

1:24It's about upholding basic British values of decency and respect and ensuring the standards we expect offline are upheld online. The Conservatives have warned against an outright ban of the platform. The Times has revealed a Jewish MP was banned from visiting a school in his constituency following a campaign by pro-Palestinian protesters. Damien Egan was due to visit Bristol Brunel Academy in September, but the trip was cancelled after an intervention by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The Bristol branch of the group was reportedly assisted by left-wing members of the National Education Union.

2:02The Community Secretary, Steve Reid, has called the incident an outrage. It's claimed Nadeem Zahawi begged the Conservatives for a peerage weeks before joining Reform UK. The former Tory Chancellor announced his defection this morning, saying Britain is drinking at the Last Chance Saloon and really does need Nigel Farage as Prime Minister. The Conservatives reportedly refused to elevate Mr Zahawi to the Lords after he previously failed to disclose an HMRC investigation. The Times' Whitehall editor is Ben Clatworthy.

2:50Mr Farage insists that affection will help dispel suggestions his party is a one-man band. Labour says reform is becoming a retirement home for disgraced former Tories. The Water Minister, Emma Hardy, has blamed years of underinvestment as tens of thousands of homes in Kent and Sussex are left without supplies in a major incident. The local Conservative MP, Mims Davis, says she's doubtful Southeast water bosses can lead the company through. And the Iranian government claims violent protests across the country have been brought under total control. It comes as Donald Trump says Tehran contacted him to negotiate after he threatened military action over its crackdown on demonstrations.

3:31According to human rights groups, at least 500 protesters have been confirmed dead. The Times' diplomatic editor Roger Boyes described the situation as a polycrisis. There's always been this underlying unstated crisis about how long the Ayatollah was going to last physically. He's 86, he's ill. But the economy is being handled extremely badly and the Iranians are extremely alert to this. So now, instead of just having women demonstrating or students demonstrating, you're having something percolating through the whole of society. And remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:16This 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. Is your kid's birthday coming up? Don't stress the prep.

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