Morning briefing Friday 5th June

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 5th June. Andy Burnham has confirmed he'll challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership if he wins this month's Makerfield by-election.

0:45The Mayor of Greater Manchester had previously promised a vote for him in Makerfield would be a vote to change Labour, but he had not explicitly said he would launch a bid. But speaking on the BBC's Question Time, Burnham said the only obstacle would be whether he could convince Labour MPs to give him their support. Times Radio's newsroom reporter is Olly Cole. Wes Streeting, he said, seems to have launched a leadership contest. So if that is running, I would seek to join it, which is possibly the clearest he's said it so far. It's correct there are a lot of steps that he might have to go through to get to a position where he could run for the Labour leadership, but he would be wanting to enter that contest, and we do see that contest really, if he comes into Westminster, will be on.

1:26There are 14 candidates on the ballot paper for the Makerfield by-election. you can see the full list on whocanivotefor.co.uk. The parents of Henry Novak say they want to see a return to common-sense policing after the revelations about the way their murdered son was treated by officers. In a meeting at No. 10 Downing Street, Novak's father, Mark, his mother, Lucy Ross, and stepmother, Katie Woodcock, were told by the Prime Minister that he would ensure policing practices were changed. Zakir Starmer said Henry deserves a legacy that goes beyond the awful tragedy of his death in police handcuffs in December of last year.

2:02Speaking to Times Radio, the Labour MP Calvin Bailey stressed the need for political leaders to address concerns about equality in policing. It's important that when we have those discussions that our political leaders up their game. And unfortunately, those people that seem to or that want to divide us, that want to make political points about this, it's important that we talk about this in a way that is reflective of, as I said, what the families wanted. President Zelensky has written to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to propose a face-to-face meeting aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

2:39Zelensky said Ukraine would observe a full ceasefire while any talks were taking place. World football's governing body FIFA is being urged to intervene with Iran's World Cup footballers, staff and delegates still waiting for their visas to enter the United States. Amid the ongoing tension over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's opening game of the tournament against New Zealand is scheduled to be played in Los Angeles in just 10 days' time. Martin Ziegler is the chief sports reporter at The Times. I mean, Iran, they're going to be based in Mexico for their training base, but they've got two matches in Los Angeles, so they're going to have to get US visas to go there.

3:16so it's going to be a tricky one for FIFA to negotiate. And a report by the National Audit Office shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received an undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate even though he only paid a nominal rental sum for more than two decades. The former Duke of York continued to collect payments even after he'd moved out following revelations about his friendship with Geoffrey Epstein. There's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

3:53This 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.

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5:14McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026.