Evening briefing Monday 22nd June

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. This is Times Radio's evening briefing on Monday the 22nd of June. Andy Burnham's been sworn in as the MP for Makerfield and could be Prime Minister by the middle of next month.

0:45Sir Keir Starmer announced earlier he'd be stepping down, saying it's clear he's lost the support of Labour MPs. The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party and I accept that answer with good grace. It's thought Mr Burnham will go unchallenged in the race to replace him after West Streeting confirmed he'd be backing the former Greater Manchester Mayor. Though we're yet to hear from Angela Rayner. Reform UK is calling for a snap election. And former Labour Cabinet Minister Alan Johnson told Times Radio, given what's happened with the Tory leadership in recent times, that could be a good idea.

1:29The one thing about us is we hadn't got into that downward spiral and now it kind of looks a bit like we have. Andy would really prove himself if he said, look, I'm going to seek my own mandate. Difficult though that is, I would advise him to do it. Mr Burnham's promise the transition of power will be a positive process of renewal. The Tories say there should be an election if the new Prime Minister can't set out a realistic plan for defence, while the Lib Dems and the Greens are calling on Sir Keir Starmer's successor to be bold. In other news, former DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson will be sentenced later this year after being found guilty of 18 sex offences against two children, who are now women.

2:10His wife Eleanor has been found to have aided and abetted him, though hasn't been given a criminal conviction on mental health grounds. Two children have been found dead in a car in southern France as Europe endures another spell of extreme heat, with temperatures there climbing into the high 30s. It comes as the UK is having its own heatwave, with the Met Office issuing a rare red warning for parts of England and Wales where temperatures could reach 38 to 40 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Employers are being urged to give staff extra breaks and provide cooling measures. Meteorologist Steph Goulter told Times Radio temperatures like these remain highly unusual in the UK.

2:48Very unusual. So we've had temperatures over 40 degrees once across the UK and that was in 2022. Very, very hot. And this would be knocking on the door of that. So it is extremely, extremely rare to see a red heat warning. The red alert is only the second ever issued for extreme heat in Britain, and the first time it's included Wales. Police investigating NHS maternity services in Nottingham have arrested two men in connection with operating practices in the Trust's mortuary services. A 55 and 59-year-old are being questioned on suspicion of misconduct in public office. A three-year-old boy who ended up in the crocodile enclosure at a zoo in Cambridgeshire has been taken off the critical list.

3:31A man reportedly with learning difficulties was arrested and later deemed unfit for interview. You can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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