Evening briefing Monday 2nd February

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0:35This is the Times Radio evening briefing for Monday, 2nd February. Lord Mandelson's alleged leaks of sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein have been called a disgusting breach of trust. The author of one of the memos that appeared in the Epstein files told Times Radio he's considering police action. It comes as Sir Keir Starmer says Mandelson should no longer sit in the House of Lords, a position echoed by opposition parties. Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, told MPs Mandelson needs to account for his actions. The undeclared exchange of funds, the passing on of government information, let alone the fact that those exchanges were offered to a convicted paedophile, are wholly unconscionable.

1:13As to the matter of criminal investigations, of course that is a matter for the prosecution services and the police. And the investigation into the release documents from the Cabinet Secretary to the Prime Minister, as I've informed the House, is currently underway. Resident doctors have voted to continue industrial action over the next six months. The British Medical Association says 93 % of members who voted were in favour. They say a deal is there to be done to avoid strikes. The MP Dan Norris says he vigorously denies allegations of sexual offences against him. The former mayor of the west of England has been rearrested on suspicion of rape, sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting.

1:49Avon and Somerset police say they're no longer investigating child sexual offences. A Russian ship's captain has been found guilty of manslaughter after a crash with an oil tanker off the Yorkshire coast. Vladimir Motton was found to have caused the death of Filipino crewman Mark Angelo Pernia when the Solong struck the Stena Immaculate, which was anchored, causing a massive explosion. Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson is from Humberside Police. The fact that we only have one very, very tragic death, I think that is in itself an absolute miracle because this was a significant explosion.

2:22The Solong burned for eight days following the collision. I think it was only the quick thinking of the American captain and crew that got them all to a place of safety and evacuated quite quickly. I think that saved a lot of lives. A think tank is calling for the number of London councils to be slashed and for Sir Sadiq Khan to face an official opposition mayor. A report from ReState says that would reinvigorate democracy in the capital. Simon Kaye is director of policy at the cross-party think tank. He told Times Radio it wouldn't be without precedent. There's actually an English way of bolstering and creating a bit of a locus of scrutiny in our system, and that's using an official opposition role.

2:59And that should probably draw attention in a way that might not encourage people to grab a bowl of popcorn and watch Mayer on Question Time, but it might build a little bit more awareness and that bottom-up scrutiny that the system really needs. And tourists hoping to toss coins into Rome's Trevi Fountain will now have to dig a little deeper. Authorities have introduced a two-euro charge from today, they say to ease overcrowding at the 260-year-old Baroque monument. You can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online.

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