Evening briefing Monday 29th September

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 Times evening briefing on Monday the 29th of September. I'm Laura Cook. The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has toughened up the government's policy on indefinite leave to remain.

0:44She said contribution to the UK will be a condition of being welcome, adding a set of conditions including being in work, making national insurance contributions and learning English to a good standard. She said the challenge isn't just winning the next election but keeping the country together. I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders. Cracking down on the criminal gangs behind the trade, discouraging those who are considering a small boat crossing, sending those home who have no right to be here, and ending the use of hotels, that totem of the Tory legacy that has done so much to divide our communities.

1:24Elsewhere, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has warned of harder choices ahead. as she delivered her keynote speech to the conference. In the months ahead, we will face further tests, with the choices to come made all the harder by harsh global headwinds and the long-term damage done to our country, which is becoming ever clearer. Elsewhere, Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington for talks with Donald Trump, with the White House saying a deal to end the war in Gaza is very close. The leaders are discussing a 21-point peace plan designed to secure an end to the nearly two-year conflict. The plans would see an exchange of prisoners on both sides.

2:02Greg Karlstrom is a Middle East correspondent for The Economist and agrees a deal could be close. I think we are closer than we've been at any point since the previous deal fell apart in March. The proposal that Trump has been talking about, that he discussed last week at the UN with a meeting of Arab leaders, is a serious proposal and it's in line with what other governments in the Middle East and European governments as well have been pushing for. No criminal charges will be brought against Andrew Tate, who's being sued in the High Court. Four women have brought a civil case against the controversial influencer accusing him of physical or sexual abuse between 2013 and 2015.

2:43He's strenuously denied any wrongdoing. The CPS says the legal test for criminal charges hasn't been met. J.K. Rowling has directly attacked actress Emma Watson after she expressed her enduring love for the author despite years of fierce disagreement over transgender rights. Rowling posted a 600-word statement on X saying she's ignorant of how ignorant she is and dismissed conciliatory comments made by Watson last week saying she continued to treasure their relationship. And GPs say they will not be able to handle the workload when Contact Us forms open for non-working hours in two days' time.

3:20Dr Katie Bramall-Steiner, chair of the BMA's GP committee, said the health secretary is making a mistake. The government will go to the ballot box a few years from now and people will say, well, why are there waiting lists to see my GP? It's not about online access. It's about the restrictions on practices to be able to go, well, actually, that's enough for today. We are full to bursting point. You can follow the Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. That's your Times Evening Briefing on Monday the 29th of September.

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. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

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