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Times Radio News Briefing

22 Jul 2025 · 4m · 6 chapters

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Evening briefing Tuesday 22nd July

In short

This Times Radio News Briefing covers: planned England resident-doctor strikes starting Friday, with the BMA saying talks over pay produced “a series of no’s”; East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust CEO Nick Hume says emergency and other services will be kept safe, with only minimal postponements/cancellations if absolutely required. It also reports a life sentence (minimum 28 years) for Habiba Masum, convicted of murdering Kalsuma Akta after tracking her to a refuge. Other items: inheritance tax on pensions from April 2027; a Conservative mini-reshuffle appointing Sir James Cleverley as shadow housing; Howard Phillips found guilty of offering to spy for Russia; WHO uncertainty over a detained staffer in Gaza amid aid-strike claims; Gaza columnist Gideon Levy alleging a systematic strategy to make Gaza unlivable.

Guests

Nick Hume (NHS Foundation Trust CEO).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:05

Doctors' Strikes Confirmed

Resident doctors in England will strike due to pay disputes.

“So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters?”
1:22

Life Sentence for Wife's Murderer

A man received a life sentence for killing his wife in front of their baby.

“A man who killed his wife as she pushed their seven-month-old baby in a pram has been handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years.”
2:14

Inheritance Tax Changes

Families will face new inheritance tax rules on pensions starting 2027.

“to pay inheritance tax and 38 ,500 will face a larger bill.”
3:04

Espionage Case & WHO Statement

A man was found guilty of spying for Russia; WHO comments on Gaza.

“after spending all his retirement savings.”
3:40

Political Updates in the UK

Updates on Reform UK party and young council leader's appointment.

“He says there's a clear goal with the strategy.”
5:16

Upcoming Business Podcast Preview

A preview of upcoming discussions on business and entrepreneurship.

“This week on the Business Podcast, Trini Woodall on building a company from scratch and why she went for the over 40s skincare market.”
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Transcript

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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. Good evening. Resident doctors in England have confirmed they'll be going ahead with strikes this week. The British Medical Association says it's seen a series of no's during talks with the Health Secretary over their pay dispute.

0:45Nick Hume is the Chief Executive at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. He told Times Radio some services may get postponed. It's always the patience to pay the price and there's no getting away from that. will ensure that the services that we provide, particularly our emergency services, but all of our services, are as safe as they would be in any day that didn't involve industrial action. That will require us to reorganise some services, but it will be kept to an absolute minimum, and we will only, if we need to, postpone or cancel any services if it is absolutely required to do so.

1:21Five days of walkouts are due to begin on Friday. A man who killed his wife as she pushed their seven-month-old baby in a pram has been handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years. Habiba Masum, who's 26, was found guilty of murdering Kalsuma Akta last month in a ferocious knife attack. He traced her to a refuge she was staying in to escape his violence and jealousy. Families will be forced to pay inheritance tax on pensions after government pushed ahead with plans that had faced significant backlash. Laura Cook has the details. Pensions will be added to estates from April 2027 when working out whether someone's estate is liable for inheritance tax at 40%.

2:07The government says the move will raise£1.46 billion a year by 2029-30. HMRC estimates around 10 ,500 estates in 2027-28 will have to pay inheritance tax and 38 ,500 will face a larger bill. Polling run by A.J. Bell found charging inheritance tax on pensions was the Labour government's most unpopular tax change since it was elected last year. Kimmy Baden-Ock has brought back her Tory leadership rival Sir James Cleverley to a shadow Angela Rayner in a mini-reshuffle. The Conservative leader appointed Cleverley as shadow housing, communities and local government secretary, making him one of the most prominent frontbenchers.

2:50A man's been found guilty of offering to spy for Russia. Howard Phillips from Harlow in Essex passed on personal details about his then MP Sir Grant Shapps to undercover agents working for MI5. The 65-year-old said he didn't want to work a 9-to-5 job after spending all his retirement savings. The World Health Organization says it doesn't know the reasons behind one of its staff members being detained by Israeli authorities in Gaza. It says strikes have hit its main warehouse in Dei al-Bala. The UK, along with 27 other nations, condemned what it described as the drip-feeding of aid and the killing of civilians.

3:31Israel says the statement is disconnected from reality. Gideon Levy is a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He says there's a clear goal with the strategy. It's totally systematic, not a building here, a building there, but just whipping out all neighbourhoods, including facilities, health facilities, education facilities, you name it, when it is so clear that there is a goal and the goal is to make Gaza unlivable for the Palestinians in order that Jewish settlers will replace them one day. And Reform UK has gained And its first member in the Welsh Parliament, Laura-Anne Jones, who represents the South East Wales region, defected from the Conservative Party, claiming it's become unrecognisable.

4:22Meanwhile, a reformed teenager has been voted in as leader of Warwickshire Council. 19-year-old George Finch will run the£2 billion budget of Warwickshire County Council temporarily. Don't forget you can set the Times News Briefing as your news service on Alexa.

5:05data 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.

5:23This week on the Business Podcast, Trini Woodall on building a company from scratch and why she went for the over 40s skincare market. You need to build a network of other female founders so that you feel you have women at the same place as you with the same struggles. From The Times and The Sunday Times, join me, Hannah Previtt. And me, Dominic O 'Connell, for conversations from the world of business and entrepreneurship. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts or find our channel on YouTube by searching Times Business.

From the publisher

The Times briefing for the evening of Tuesday 22nd July. For more on these stories throughout the day tune into Times Radio - on DAB, online, through your smart speaker or on the Times Radio app.



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