Evening Briefing Tuesday 4th August

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 4th of August with me, James Kitchen. The Prime Minister says he's pushed the early release scheme to the limits of possibility insisting he wanted to go even further.

0:45Earlier, Andy Burnham announced prisoners convicted of rape, serious child sex offences and grooming would not be freed early, while nearly all other offenders released would be tagged and live under toughened supervision. Rachel Williams is a domestic abuse survivor and founder of Stand Up To Domestic Abuse. She told Times Radio she was fuming that domestic abusers would be amongst those released to free up prison space. The question is, shouldn't prison be a punishment and a deterrent for those perpetrators of abuse? And I don't care if prisons are overcrowded and a lot of victims and survivors will agree with me.

1:21This should never come before the safety of victims and survivors. Domestic abuse destroys lives and perpetrators should face tougher sentences and not more lenient ones. And survivors deserve to know that the justice system is putting their safety first and it's not. French authorities say 157 people have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants caught fire in the English Channel. British Border Force vessels, the RNLI, French boats and a French Navy helicopter were deployed to the scene. It's thought the engine on board the craft caught fire. The Times' correspondent David Chauzan sets out what happens next for those returned to France.

1:58They'll probably just find themselves, you know, back camping out in the woods near the French coast and trying to make another crossing. The French don't have a policy of detaining them. Some may be ordered to leave the country, but most probably won't. Meanwhile, the European Commission president has called for a stronger, more unified response to illegal migration. Nurse Lavon de Leyen's comments come as EU interior ministers hold an emergency video conference. She says the protection of borders is a shared European responsibility following the influx of 60 ,000 migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

2:36Speaking this afternoon, the EU's Migration Commissioner Magnus Bruner praised the bloc's response to the crisis. When it mattered, the situation was brought back under control. That did not happen by accident. It happened because we acted together. European solidarity is at the heart of the European project and Spain and its people can of course count on the enduring support of the commission and the strength of our union to overcome this current challenge. Four police constables are being investigated after a man who approached officers foaming at the mouth was arrested and later died. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is looking into potential gross misconduct following the incident in Portsmouth in June.

3:20Nigel Lawrence was handcuffed and put in a police van to be taken into hospital, but officers ended up pulling over to give him first aid. He died the following evening. The National Gallery is spending£250 ,000 to invite members of the public with no artistic experience to advise on its future. The Citizens' Assembly is made up of 50 people from the UK aged 16 and over. A leading art conservation group has branded the project Barking Mad. Remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

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