Evening briefing Thursday 16th April

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

0:36This is the Times Radio evening briefing for Thursday, the 16th of April. The Conservative leader has accused the Prime Minister of misleading MPs over Lord Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to Washington. The Guardian newspaper reports the Foreign Office overturned an intelligence services recommendation that Mandelson should not get security clearance. So Keir Starmer has repeatedly insisted that full due process was followed. But Kemi Badenoch says that can't be right. If he has misled Parliament, as it looks like he has, he should resign. If he has broken the ministerial code, as it looks like he has, he should resign.

1:08If he withheld documents via cover-up from parliament, he should resign. And I'm only holding him to the same standards which he held previous prime ministers to, that if they misled parliament, they should resign. Donald Trump says a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will come into effect from midnight local time. The 10-day pause in fighting follows his call with the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier, Pakistan warned that peace in Lebanon is essential before talks on ending the Iran war can restart. The Times correspondent Richard Spencer is in Tel Aviv.

1:40This is an absolute turning point in modern Lebanese history. If President Aoun does meet the Israeli leader, that'll be a first. Lebanon does not recognize Israel at the moment. If President Aoun decides to comply with Israel's demands and decide to take on Hezbollah itself and try and disarm Hezbollah, you know, that risks civil war for Levin. The Archbishop of Canterbury has voiced support for the Pope as his seeming war of words with Donald Trump continues. Dame Sarah Mullally says she stands with the pontiff in calling for peace. Speaking in Cameroon, Pope Leo criticised those who use religious language to justify war, saying the world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.

2:21Trump's spiritual advisor, Pastor Mark Burns, told Times Radio the Pope has a personal dislike of the U.S. president. This is coming from the gates of hell. I mean, this battle between the Pope and the president is not of God's will. The Pope's focus should be about promoting peace and not taking stabs at President Trump, who does not glorify war, who is not a tyrant. He was duly elected as a president. The COVID inquiry has described the rollout of vaccines as an extraordinary feat, but called for payments to the small number of people hurt by the jab to be doubled. Chairwoman Baroness Hallett says payouts should be increased to£200 ,000.

2:59She also pointed to research suggesting the vaccine programme saved nearly half a million lives, but warned that uptake was lower among poorer people and some ethnic minority groups. And researchers say they've located William Shakespeare's long-lost London home, and it may have been used as a buy-to-let. The relatively substantial property in Blackfriars was identified from a floor plan of foundations that survived the Great Fire of London, close to the Bard's Theatre. Professor Lucy Munro of King's College London found the documents by chance in the archives. Friends of mine have been calling it Shakespeare's flat.

3:31But there's that kind of question, did he buy it because he intended to live there? Did he intend to let it out but kind of retain some space for himself there? And it's big enough that he could have done that if he'd wanted to. You can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio Online.

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

4:50real-time feedback, smart segmentation, and effortless reporting that tracks every win. Let's redefine what's possible together. Get started for free at ActiveCampaign.com.