Evening briefing Thursday 25th 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 the Times evening briefing for Thursday the 25th of September. Every adult in Britain will legally require a new government-issued digital ID card under plans to be set out by Sir Keir Starmer to tackle illegal immigration.

0:49Detailed plans for what has been dubbed a Brit card will be subject to consultation. An initially sceptical Prime Minister is understood to have been convinced of the importance of the scheme by figures including President Macron. Southport MP Patrick Hurley told Times Radio he was sceptical a few years ago, but not anymore. I've got private companies that know what music I listen to, what books I've ordered. I've got parking apps on my phone that know where my car is parked. There's no reason at all to think that public sector should be the one part of our economy in our country that doesn't go for the same sort of context.

1:24And you could crack down on benefit fraud, you could crack down on illegal immigration and the sort of the grey and the black economy that we don't want to see any more of. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves has reinforced her backing of the Prime Minister and says she's sure Andy Burnham is focusing on bringing positive change to Greater Manchester. It's after the Mayor claimed multiple Labour MPs have privately encouraged him to challenge Keir Starmer for his role. Josh Fenton-Glynn, the Labour MP for Calder Valley, says he doesn't believe a Burnham bandwagon in Westminster really exists. I'd say you're doing a brilliant job as Manchester Mayor.

1:57Let's focus on getting the best for Manchester, the best for the north of England and the best for the country. and that's by getting on with the jobs that we have. Right, you do your job and Kier can do his. Is that what it comes down to? Pretty much. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to fight to the end after being sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy. The three-month court case in Paris was over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by Libya's Gaddafi government. The Palestinian president thanked countries, including the UK, for formally recognising the state of Palestine.

2:31Mahmoud Abbas has told the UN General Assembly that his people reject the action of Hamas carried out on October 7. He insists there can be no place for the terrorist group in Gaza's future. Jaguar Land Rover says some of its IT systems are back online after being hit by a cyber attack late last month. Since 31 August, productions halted across the supply chain with staff off work. The governing body of European football, UEFA, will decide next week if it will suspend Israel from competition. It's understood most members of its executive committee are in favour of a ban. The US State Department have said they are actively working against a ban.

3:09Martin Ziegler, The Times' chief sports reporter, says it's a potentially awkward situation for the head of the world governing body FIFA, Gianni Infantino, because he's a big ally of Trump. He's getting sort of contrasting pressure from his allies in the Middle East. He's very close to the Qataris, which were obviously subjected to a drone attack by Israel earlier this month. Saudi Arabia, other Middle East and Arab states are pretty keen on Israel being excluded. So I think it might help Infantino actually in a way that he doesn't have to take the decision if you're ready to do it for him. You can hear more of these stories throughout the evening on Times Radio.

3:54This 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