Morning briefing Friday 6th March

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 morning briefing for Friday 6th March with me, Tom Crosedale. The first government-chartered flight bringing home British people stranded in the Middle East has landed in the UK.

0:46It arrived at London's Stansted from Muscat in Amman just after one o 'clock this morning. Iran's been carrying out drone and missile attacks across the region in response to joint US-Israeli strikes that killed the Supreme Leader. In Washington, President Trump says he intends to play a part in choosing Ali Khamenei's replacement, but Michael Stevens from defence think tank Russi says that won't impress Iranians. He makes these kind of statements and perhaps doesn't think about what the follow-up of that could mean but it won't play well in Iran for those people that think this is our moment, we really do want to see the end of this regime but it needs to look legitimate.

1:24Well as the war goes into its seventh day, Mr Trump has claimed strikes have left Iran with nothing but he says the regime is tough. Here, the Defence Secretary John Healy has told Times Radio Britain will adapt the action it's taking as the threat posed by Iran becomes clearer. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has called for de-escalation but is strengthening defence operations, sending four more fighter jets to Qatar. Elsewhere, people are trying to leave Lebanon where Israel's targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Nicholas Frakes is a journalist in Beirut. He's told Times Radio people there are terrified.

2:00The general talk when you speak with anyone here in Lebanon right now is that, you know, the war in 2024 is very bad. But this one, despite its short time, has easily been worse in terms of the level of violence we've seen, the level of bombings we've seen. There's generally a lot of fear as to how far this will go. And there's a general feeling that maybe nowhere is safe because we're seeing places that were not hit in the last war are now being bombed. In other news this morning, a group of MPs says government plans to reform the special educational needs system don't include enough detail about getting pupils to and from schools.

2:40The Education Secretary Bridget Philipson insists with more places available in local mainstream schools, councils won't need to provide the same level of transport. Labour says MP Joni Reid has agreed to fully cooperate with its investigation after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. She's been suspended from the party but says she'll continue to serve her constituents as usual. And the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics takes place in Verona later but there won't be any British officials there. The government is boycotting the events over the decision to let athletes from Russia and Belarus compete at the Games under their own flags.

3:19And remember you can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen to Times Radio online.

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