Evening briefing Thursday 30th 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. This is the Times Radio evening briefing on Thursday 30th April. The terror threat level has been raised too severe across the UK following the Golders' Green stabbings.

0:44It's the second highest point on the scale, meaning another terror attack is considered highly likely in the next six months. The man arrested over that terror attack has been identified as Esa Suleiman. The 45-year-old legally came to the UK as a child from Somalia and later obtained British citizenship. He was referred to the government's anti-terror programme Prevent in 2020 and his case was closed later that year. Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Grindle says it isn't possible to keep tabs on all cases all the time. Not everybody who has been referred is necessarily a problem. They have been referred to it for an assessment and that assessment, we don't know what the results of that assessment are.

1:24We don't know what happened in terms of what mitigation or what courses etc that he might have gone on and six years is clearly some time ago. The Prime Minister was heckled when he visited Golders Green this afternoon. He was met with chants of Keir Starmer, Jew harmer.

1:46In an address from Downing Street afterwards, the Prime Minister said the country must open its eyes to the suffering of Jewish people. He promised tougher action against people who shout anti-Semitic abuse, including on pro-Palestinian marches. If you are marching with people wearing pictures of paragliders without calling it out, you are venerating the murder of Jews. If you stand alongside people who say globalise the Intifada, you are calling for terrorism against Jews. And people who use that phrase should be prosecuted. The terror threat level across the UK has been raised to severe, the second highest point on the scale.

2:30That means another terror attack is considered highly likely. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is hit back at Zach Polanski for retweeting criticism of the officers who arrested the suspect. The Green Party leader shared a post which said officers repeatedly and violently kicked a mentally ill man in the head after he'd been tasered. Body cam footage shows officers wrestling the suspect to the ground as he held a knife with which he'd tried to attack them. Sir Mark Rowley says the post was inaccurate and misinformed commentary from an armchair critic. In other news, the Bank of England is warning the war in Iran could push inflation up to 6.2 % at the start of next year.

3:09That would be double what it was at the start of this year, prompting the bank to hold interest rates at 3.75%. The Governor, Andrew Bailey, says higher inflation is unavoidable. There is nothing monetary policy can do to prevent these cost increases from affecting UK businesses and households. The longer the conflict in the Middle East continues, the worse the impact will become. A resolution at the source, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and repairing the damage that has been done to the world's energy infrastructure, can, however, reduce the impact of this negative supply shock to our economy.

3:42Don't forget to subscribe to the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify or listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:55is 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

4:51Cup meal. The cups feature some of the biggest legends in football, like David Beckham, Terry Henry, and Ronaldinho, Christian Pulisic, Lamine Yamal, and Alfonso Davies. Right now, get one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World Cup meal only at McDonald's. At participating McDonald's, only for a limited time, while supplies last, all rights reserved, copyright 2026, McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026.