Morning briefing Monday 1st 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 The Times Morning Briefing on Monday 1st September. I'm Daryl Jackson. A cabinet minister has accused Reform UK of stoking tensions over asylum hotels as protests continue.

0:47Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said whipping up anger serves the political interests of Nigel Farage's party. In Epping, where the use of the Bell Hotel has been at the centre of a legal battle between the local council and the government, there were three arrests. Sue Russo is a local resident from the group Epping for Everyone and told Times Radio they've been really saddened and upset by the protests. In our view and in my view, the safety that people talk about since the asylum seekers have come, it's felt more unsafe subsequently because of the protests, not before. You know, we have to remember that these asylum seekers have been here for five years without problem.

1:29And so, you know, this summer has felt very, very tricky. A murder investigation is underway after a man was stabbed to death in Luton last night. officers were called to Humberstone Road following reports of an argument involving two men and a woman. A man in his 20s was taken to hospital with serious injuries but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Donald Trump's reportedly weighing the idea of private military firms being deployed to Ukraine as part of security guarantees in the event of a peace deal with Russia. Over the weekend, the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the Financial Times that Europe has a pretty precise plan to send troops to Ukraine.

2:08Retired Brigadier General Kevin Ryan, former U.S. defense attaché to Moscow, told Times Radio he doesn't think that's a good idea. Russia itself still does have a lot of private security firms integrated with the Russian military, and those forces are fighting in Ukraine already. They also are forces which cause a lot of problems for Russian military commanders because they sometimes act unlawfully. They don't necessarily follow orders the same as regular troops do. A new pay-as-you-go rail ticketing system, which tracks passengers' locations as they travel, is to be trialled in England. Under the scheme, passengers will be able to check in and out of rail journeys using an app on their phone, with passengers automatically charged at the end of the day.

2:55Ministers hope the trial will help to save passengers both money and time while travelling on the rail network. Amy, Bram and Chandra will be the first named storms this winter after more than 50 ,000 suggestions were submitted by the public. The Met Office has announced a list of this year's storm names, saying many people put forward suggestions in tribute to loved ones and even favourite pets. Alex Deakin from the Weather Service says the purpose of naming storms was to help people take notice. By naming a storm, we get more chatter on social media. And it's all about that notification, getting people to understand that severe weather coming means they're more likely to act.

3:35And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day over on Times Radio.

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