Evening Briefing Wednesday 5th 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 Wednesday 5th August with me, James Kitchen. A man who was previously jailed for anti-Semitic abuse has withdrawn as a Conservative council candidate after outrage over his selection.

0:47Kemi Baitnock had defended Joshua Bonehill-Payne, insisting he would only be responsible for parking and sorting out bins. But earlier, the Board of Deputies of British Jews refused an invitation from the party leader to meet the now former candidate. Its president is Phil Rosenberg. There's absolutely repentance and rehabilitation. And I think it's important that some of the things we're hearing about what he's doing are encouraging. But there's a difference between that rehabilitation and then giving that person a mandate as the representative of a major political party. Whilst the victims are still in many ways suffering the consequences of those actions that were not just one action, but actions over a sustained period of time.

1:27The 47-year-old woman has been arrested after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden in what police are calling a mental health-related incident. The London Ambulance Service says it was called to Endel Street shortly before 12.30 this afternoon. An air ambulance was dispatched to Trafalgar Square. Paramedics treated four patients at the scene before taking them to a major trauma centre. Two have since been discharged. The police marksman who shot dead Chris Cava will not face disciplinary proceedings. A jury previously cleared Martin Blake of murdering the 24-year-old when officers tried to stop his car in South London in 2022.

2:04The watchdog has dropped its case after the government changed regulations earlier this year around police use of force. But the country's top officer, Commissioner Samark Rowley, welcomes the move. It is unacceptable that if you're prepared to run towards danger, that you should have your life turned upside down for years and years of unacceptable scrutiny in a process that should take weeks, not years. Chris Cabber's family have called the decision a devastating blow. A drone carrying an explosive device has been found at Germany's Leipzig airport. Police deployed a robot after the device was spotted by an employee in a Ukrainian cargo planes overnight.

2:43A second unidentified object then collided with a cargo aircraft near the same airport. Police are on high alert following a series of drone flights over sensitive sites, including military bases, energy terminals, and seaports. More than 120 MPs and peers are urging the Chancellor to reform the student loan system. They say the formula, under which graduates have to repay 9 % of their income above a certain threshold is an unsustainable and unfair financial burden. The government has been under pressure to reform student loans following the Sunday Times End the Graduate rip-off campaign, which triggered a parliamentary inquiry.

3:20The Times has revealed the beleaguered FIFA president has promised Morocco that it will host the 2030 World Cup final in return for its support. Gianni Infantino has been holed up in Rabat since a crisis broke out over his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The paper's chief sports reporter is Martin Ziegler. Morocco was also the country he rewarded by basically shoehorning in as co-hosts with Spain and Portugal. Until he sort of did that, it looked like Spain and Portugal were bidding for it on their own. Remember, you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

3:59This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC 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