Evening briefing Thursday 16th October

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 the Times evening briefing on Thursday the 16th of October. The director-general of MI5 has spoken about his frustration that charges were dropped against two men accused of spying for China.

0:45Sir Ken McCallum says prosecutions are the most effective way to deter spying. Our preference always is to effect the most enduring disruption we can. When prosecutions and convictions happen, that's great. So yes, we are frustrated when those things don't happen. This is not unique. There are sometimes reasons why prosecutions don't work. But the key thing for us to do is to disrupt threats and that's what we've done. He also warned that China poses a threat to national security every day and that the Security Service disrupted a new spying plot in the last week. MPs will hold a formal inquiry after the government released witness statements which describe widespread Chinese espionage, something China denies.

1:23Former Director of Public Prosecutions Ken McDonald told Times Radio it's not clear why the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges. His statement, on its own terms, amounted to an assertion that China was a threat to our national security. So in those circumstances, it's quite difficult to understand a decision not to prosecute or a decision that the evidence somehow felt short of what was required for prosecution. The CPS deemed the evidence did not show China was a threat to national security. Additionally, the government has again pushed back the decision date to give approval for controversial plans for a new Chinese embassy in London from next week until December.

2:04Post office convictions based on evidence from a second accounting software have been referred for appeal for the first time. Patricia Owen was found guilty on five counts of theft in 1998 based on the evidence of CAPTCHA, the system which was used before the faulty horizon system. She died in 2003. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have had what the US president calls a lengthy phone call this afternoon. He's due to host Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Nestle says it will cut around 16 ,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years. The food and drink company says it will automate more of its processes to cut costs.

2:42It currently employs 7 ,500 people in the UK. One of the 3 ,000 people suing pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder has told Times Radio her cancer diagnosis has completely changed her life. Annabelle Hill is being treated for ovarian cancer and she's part of a lawsuit which says Johnson & Johnson knowingly sold baby powder contaminated with asbestos. After being diagnosed I obviously had major surgery, eight hours, lots of tissue and internal organs removed and I have been told that the legal team have already asked for some of those samples to be taken away and analysed.

3:19From what I gather it's quite possible that there will be signs of asbestos or certainly talcum powder in my internal organs which potentially cause the ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson's owners insist the powder met standards and did not cause cancer. And Cardiff Council has approved plans to impose higher parking charges on drivers of SUVs. The fees will apply to vehicles weighing more than 2.4 metric tonnes. It's the first time an additional charge has been introduced in the UK. Don't forget to subscribe to the Times News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio online.

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 In 2016, a 22-year-old known as Posh George was jailed in the US for wire fraud.

4:46Standing by his side when he was arrested was Nigel Farage. Join me, Gabriel Pogan, from The Sunday Times for a wild ride through the worlds of politics, crypto and crime. It's in our new podcast series, Pos George, The Criminal Behind Farage. Search for Pos George The Times wherever you get your podcasts.