Evening briefing Wednesday 15th 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 for Wednesday the 15th of April. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the US-Israeli war against Iran is a mistake.

0:43She's not convinced that this conflict has made the world a safer place. The Chancellor's in Washington with her counterparts from 10 other countries. The joint statement says the war's caused unacceptable loss of life and significant disruption to the global economy. It's called for a swift and lasting negotiated resolution to the conflict and a return to free and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Ms Rees is set to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant after he said a small bit of economic pain caused by the war was worth it to prevent Tehran getting a nuclear weapon. During Prime Minister's questions today, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey suggested this month's state visit to America should be put on hold.

1:18Surely the Prime Minister can't send our king to meet a man who treats our country like a mafia boss running a protection racket. Monarchy is an important reminder of the long-standing bonds and enduring relationship between our two countries. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister failed to answer Kemi Badeknot when she asked when a review on defence spending promised for the autumn would eventually be published after months of delay. It's after the former Labour Minister and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson claimed the PM had a corrosive complacency to defence and was spending too much on welfare.

1:49The Prime Minister rejected the claim and turned the question back on the Conservatives. When they came into office, defence spending was 2.5%. When they left, it was 2.3%. When they came into office, the army was 100 ,000. When they left office, 72 ,000. She said at the weekend, our defence is the weakest for 400 years. That is what they left behind. That's where a manhunt is underway after an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Finchley. two suspects threw bottles suspected to contain petrol and a brick at the Finchley Reform Synagogue in North London in the early hours of this morning.

2:28Specialist detectives from counter-terrorism policing are supporting the Met Police in the investigation, which is being treated as an anti-Semitic hate crime. The bottles did not ignite, no damage was reported and there were no injuries. Two police officers have been charged after a heavily pregnant woman was killed in a car crash in South London. The 38-year-old and her unborn baby died after a collision involving two unmarked patrol cars. PC Chris Johnson is charged with causing death by dangerous driving, while former PC Danny Tompkins is also charged with dangerous driving. Two men have been handed the first bans for trying to enter a football match in England and Wales without a ticket.

3:06They won't be allowed to go to a game for three years after being caught during last month's EFL Cup final at Wembley. And one in ten BBC staff are being told their jobs are being cut. It's part of a£600 million cost-cutting plan announced in February. The broadcaster has cut as many as 2 ,000 jobs in its biggest downsizing for 15 years. You can hear more of these stories throughout the evening on Times Radio.

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