Evening briefing Wednesday 1st July

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 Times Radio's Evening Briefing on Wednesday 1st July. captain harry kane has guided england into the last 16 of the world cup with two goals in a 2-1 win against dr congo the african side took an early lead in atlanta but kane's second half brace ensured progress for thomas tuchel's side at the tournament they play net mexico next in the early hours of monday morning the conservative leader has accused sakir starmer of leaving a £5 billion hole in the government's defence investment plan.

1:06Kemi Bade-Knock challenged him at Prime Minister's questions over how the shortfall will be funded. With Andy Burnham widely expected to succeed Sakhir later this month, ministers insist the commitment to defence spending will remain. Energy Consumers Minister Martin McCluskey told Times Radio Mr Burnham understands the importance of properly funding the armed forces. I was with Andy this afternoon at a meeting that he had with Scottish Labour MPs. I know the emphasis that he places on defence and I know that he will have that as a top priority for his government because obviously we're facing a really challenging situation internationally at the moment and that's ultimately what this defence investment plan is all about.

1:45It's about making sure that we are adequately protected in this country to face the challenges that we're facing now but right into the future as well. The family of a three-year-old boy who ended up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in Cambridgeshire say he faces a long road to recovery. The toddler was seriously injured by the reptiles at Johnson's of Oldhurst near Huntington last month. Two people have died after a light aircraft crashed in Essex. Police say the two-seat Cessna took off from Northwield Airfield yesterday in what's been described as a short flight experience. The aircraft came down in a field in Ongar, around seven miles away.

2:22Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing fresh questions over the transparency of his financial affairs after a Times investigation into his property portfolio. It's understood he and his partner own five mortgage-free homes worth more than£4 million, although only two are declared on Parliament's Register of Interests. Mr Farage insists his declarations comply with parliamentary rules and says everything has been checked by the registrar. Times columnist Fraser Nelson explains why the investigation matters. The question's more where he got his money from, and I'll tell you why that matters. He declared in 2017 that he was skint.

2:59That's the word he used. Now, from then, he's gone to being skint to having five properties, four of them bought with cash. Now, how did he manage that? Of course, we know he got£5 million gift, shall we say, from the Thai billionaire Christopher Harbourn. But where did the others come from? The Halifax name is going to disappear from high streets. Its owner says it'll scrap the 173-year-old banking brand with all branches and accounts rebranded to Lloyds. You can follow The Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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