Evening Briefing Tuesday 22nd 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. Hello, this is your Times Radio evening briefing for Tuesday the 22nd of September with me, James Kitchen. Donald Trump has again insisted Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, branding the country the world's number one sponsor of terror.

0:47Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, the US President condemned what he called the vile regime. Mr. Trump told world leaders he expects to make a deal with Tehran after the US midterms. Iran's goal was to complete their mad dash to a nuclear bomb from behind this conventional ballistic missile shield. If they had succeeded, that wicked regime would have been free to spread terror and death forever, knowing that any attempt to stop them would face an arsenal of nuclear annihilation. President Trump said the war in Ukraine will be over more quickly than people understand. He also called Cuba a failed state, prompting a walkout from the Cuban delegation.

1:31Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is expected to insist the UK is not on the slide when he meets Donald Trump for their first face-to-face meeting. Andy Burnham insists he'll seek common ground. The Times' Washington editor Katie Ball says the PM will be looking to avoid any confrontation. I think it probably will run fairly smoothly, partly because it's a fairly short meeting. And I also think from everything we're hearing from those around Andy Burnham, that he wants to play it safe. So you have had various briefings implying he's going to be less deferential than Keir Starmer was. But yet, whenever I speak to anyone, they're thinking about what gifts to bring him.

2:07He wants to focus on building a rapport. Elsewhere, two men have been arrested over a suspected terror plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area. They were detained on Sunday with officers given warrants to keep them in custody for a week. Police say it was part of a long-running investigation and there's no ongoing threat to the public. Searches have been carried out at addresses in Liverpool and Salford. Andy Burnham's senior economic advisor has warned the PM's pledge to bring good growth to every postcode is not realistic and risks wasting taxpayers' money. Lord O 'Neill says that ministers should instead focus on generating growth in key city regions.

2:46He also warned Mr Burnham's devolution plans could backfire if he handed too much power to regions lacking the capability to spend money effectively. The Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, has called for a pause on AI development before it's too late. Speaking at his party conference, he likened the threat of super-intelligent AI to nuclear weapons and proposed a global watchdog modelled on the International Atomic Energy Agency. Handled well, it could cure diseases, make work easier, unlock discoveries we can barely imagine, but handle badly. It concentrates more power in fewer hands than at any point in human history.

3:28That is a threat not only to our country and our communities, but to the future of our whole species. The Lib Dem leaders pledged to raise the income tax threshold if the party wins power at the next general election. He also criticised those seeking to tear our country apart following anti-migrant protests in Dover and Portsmouth. Reform UK has dropped to second place behind Labour in a new poll. According to the YouGov survey, Nigel Farage's party is now tied with the Conservatives on 21%. Labour's on 23%, while the Greens have moved up to 14%, pushing the Lib Dems into fifth place. Remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:35PwC 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.

4:56From blockades to breakthroughs. From rising tides of populism to market crashes. From number 10 to the White House. The Story podcast helps you digest the news cycle with the best journalism from The Times and The Sunday Times. I'm Manveen Rana. And I'm Luke Jones. We'll bring you one news story told in-depth every day. Exclusive stories, expert analysis and groundbreaking investigations. Find The Story wherever you get your podcasts.