Morning briefing Friday 4th 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. This is Times Radio's morning briefing on Friday the 4th of September. Police are assessing allegations that Reform UK breached political donation rules following an undercover investigation.

0:46Channel 4 News says senior party figures discussed ways a foreign donor could fund polling and make a£500 ,000 donation through his UK-based son. Reform denies any wrongdoing, has launched an internal investigation and says it was the target of a hoax. The crossbench peer Claire Fox told Times Radio she has concerns about the methods used by the undercover journalists. I worry about journalism's reputation in terms of not being seen to be activist or to be being unduly, you know, trying to get reform. That will just fuel the anti-establishment rhetoric of Nigel Farage. The army is scaling back major training exercises as it looks to save millions of pounds from its running costs.

1:29Some war games involving tanks and Apache helicopters have been cancelled, although training for troops preparing for deployment will continue. The army says it's prioritising readiness and skills needed for modern warfare, including drone operations. Elliot Wilson, a former House of Commons clerk who worked with the Defence Committee, told Times Radio he's deeply disappointed by the decision. We keep getting these stories which are about relatively small amounts of money but are chipping away at our capabilities. We couldn't find a destroyer to send to Cyprus back in March. We're now having to stop exercises which include more than 90 personnel, which is not really that many.

2:05Not only is there the problem of getting towards the kind of defence policy and expenditure we need in 2035, but we're not even maintaining our current capabilities. We're falling down on things we say we can do. Argentina's president has announced sanctions against companies involved in oil drilling off the Falkland Islands. It comes amid renewed tensions over the British Overseas Territory after Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on whether the US would support Britain in any future conflict over the islands. A judge has told the deadlocked jury in the US trial of Lindsay Clancy to continue trying to reach a verdict after six days of deliberations.

2:44The 36-year-old admits killing her three young children in Massachusetts in 2023, but says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and couldn't distinguish right from wrong. Tensions have emerged among jurors, with the defence unsuccessfully asking for one of them to be removed following a dispute over reasonable doubt. A study suggests delaying giving children smartphones could improve their mental health. The research by Royal Holloway University looked at 12 ,000 primary schools in England. Schools where more parents pledged to wait until their children were 14 saw fewer pupils needing mental health support.

3:22Mosquitoes capable of spreading diseases, including dengue and Zika, have been found breeding in the UK for the first time. They were discovered in East London, but health officials say the risk to the public remains very low. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:43This 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 Quick question, when was the last time a display ad changed your mind?

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