Evening briefing Monday 7th 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 This is Times Radio's Evening Briefing on Monday the 7th of September. The United Nations has criticised the Home Office over risks that migrants are being granted asylum in the UK even though it claims they are not entitled to it.

0:48An audit by the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees cited government figures that showed only half of asylum decisions met its own quality standards. The Times Home Affairs editor Matt Dathan says Home Office attempts to verify claimants are being made difficult by international confidentiality rules. One of the other reasons given was because an asylum caseworker must only be sure that they are more likely than not to be genuine rather than actually have any more substantial concerns. So, for example, they just need to be 51 % sure that the asylum seeker is being genuine. And that is essentially the test that an asylum caseworker carries out.

1:26The Chancellor John Healy says he wants to transform Britain into a country of growth creation. Delivering his first major speech since his appointment, Healy proposed that reforms already applied to energy would be extended to infrastructure in an attempt to prevent what he says are vexatious legal challenges that can block growth. He reiterated Labour's pledge to give regional mayors a share of income tax by 2028, and he said he would not let the opportunity of artificial intelligence pass Britain by. It will transform our economy at every level. Every firm, every community, every hospital, every school.

2:01And unlike previous world-changing technology, from the factory to the steam engine to electricity to the World Wide Web, AI self-improves. And on some measures, the capability of Frontier models is doubling every four months. Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed plans to cut 4 ,000 jobs across its global workforce over the next two years, as part of attempts to reduce costs by£1.7 billion. The cuts are largely expected to impact office roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations in the West Midlands. Germany's hard-right AFD party says the Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is now a major burden for the country.

2:42The anti-immigration party is appealing to Merz's centre-right Christian Democrat party to support its bid to govern the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt after claiming almost 44 % of the vote in regional elections. Jens Zimmermann, who represents the Social Democrats, is predicting a turbulent few weeks for German politics. What I'm hearing on the floors of Parliament and from old friends is, is Friedrich Merz still the right chancellor? So maybe a British change of leadership like Kier Stahmer to Andy Burnham So it would be very uncommon in German, but right now it's difficult times and everything seems to me now on the table.

3:26And Cheshire police, who are trying to track down more than 70 ,000 pints worth of stolen Guinness, have found two lorry trailers believed to have been involved in the theft. 800 barrels of the stouts are, however, still missing. There's more on all of these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:51This 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. Hey, this is Farnoosh from the So Money Podcast. Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where a team of trusted journalists does the research so you don't have to sort through 12 conflicting opinions online.

4:47On the show, you get research-backed insights and clear pros and cons, whether you're planning a big purchase or you just want to grow your wealth. They explain the why behind everything from investing and home buying to smaller habits like sinking funds, the strategy to make surprise expenses stop feeling like surprises. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast on your favorite podcast app.